Scania has confirmed that it is considering a merger with MAN after Volkswagen said it is prepared to moves its shares between the two companies.
Volkswagen owns 46% of Scania, and 71% of the voting right, and is looking to boost its holding in German truck maker MAN to Swedish manufacturer Scania.
According to German newspaper, Der Spiegel, should it be successful Scania may then offer to buy out other MAN investors. MAN has a 13.4% holding in Scania.
Volkswagen has actively sought closer links between its holdings for several years after it bought shares in both to block a potential hostile takeover of Scania by MAN. It moved its production chief Jochem Heizmann to a new post overseeing the truck holdings and to forge closer ties between Scania and MAN earlier this year.
The surprise resignation of MAN’s CEO Hakan Samuelsson last year moved analysts to predict a three-way truck alliance between VW, MAN and Scania, however MAN has up until now defended its independence.
Scania’s confirmation that it is considering a merger with MAN could lead to the creation of Europe’s largest manufacturer of commercial vehicles.
“For some time Scania and MAN have investigated different projects in the industrial area,” Scania announced. “A full realisation of potential synergies requires a closer cooperation by combining the two companies, while maintaining the unique brand values of the respective companies.”
In a separate statement, MAN referred to the “speculation” of “industrial cooperation” with Scania as “still open and no decisions have been taken”.
VW spokesman Michael Brendel told Bloomberg that: “We support these talks.”
