Volkswagen AG clinched a 55.9 percent stake in Munich-based truckmaker MAN SE, clearing the way for the carmaker to start building its European truck empire. Volkswagen's majority stake allows it to determine seats on the supervisory board, a way to accelerate co-operation between MAN and VW's Swedish brand Scania.
"Volkswagen is more than pleased with the result," Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said in a statement on Monday. "As a result, our objective of realising substantial synergies between MAN, Scania and Volkswagen in the interest of all shareholders, employees and customers is moving closer." VW's influential Chairman Ferdinand Piech has been itching to create Europe's biggest truckmaker to compete with rivals such as Volvo and Daimler and expand the reach of Volkswagen's sphere. Shares in MAN were among the strongest decliners in Germany's blue chip DAX index.
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