Volkswagen Moves Toward Majority Stake in German Truck Maker MAN

Volkswagen AG moved closer to its goal of becoming Europe’s largest truck maker in moving toward gaining a majority in German truck maker MAN SE, Bloomberg reported.

Volkswagen will own 56% of MAN’s voting rights after the deal closes, the company said in a statement Tuesday, Bloomberg reported. VW had sought 40% of MAN’s voting rights in May when it began its bid.

Volkswagen triggered a mandatory bid for MAN in May by raising its stake to 30.5% from 29.9% in an effort to pave the way for closer cooperation between the German truck maker and Sweden’s Scania AB, a unit of VW.

A three-way truck alliance may save as much as 1 billion euros (about $1.45 billion) in annual costs, Bloomberg reported, citing Volkswagen.

VW took a controlling stake in Sweden-based Scania in 2008. The increased holding in MAN may allow the two truck makers to get regulatory approval to share business information and work more closely together, Bloomberg said.

Germany-based Daimler AG, which makes Freightliner and Western Star trucks in North America, is the world’s largest biggest truck maker.