Volkswagen AG declined to raise its $9.2 billion bid to buy out rest of Swedish truck maker Scania AB after a Scania board committee recommended that minority owners reject the offer as being too low.
“We explicitly do not share their view on the valuation,” Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen said in a statement March 18.
The current offer “represents a highly attractive and balanced deal” and one that would “allow Scania shareholders to realize the maximum value they can realistically expect from their investment,” the statement said.
Volkswagen announced its offer late last month to buy the remainder of Scania that it does not already control and said it hired former Daimler AG trucking executive Andreas Renschler to oversee global truck operations. He will take the position early next year.
The 200 krona-a-share bid is 36% higher than Scania’s Feb. 21closing price, when VW announced its plan for a full takeover. The tender period began March 17 and ends April 25.
“The long-term fundamental value of Scania as we see it means that this price undervalues our picture of the future,” Aasa Thunman, chairman of the committee, said at a March 18 press conference in Stockholm.
In turning down the bid, Scania said it has made “significant investments” for new products and that the operating margin will improve in the coming years as a result.
