Volkswagen Officially Goes for MAN

In the works at the Volkswagen headquarters for a while now, an official bid to take over MAN in a move that will in the end see the company being merged with Scania. Hopes are that by creating a giant group, some opposition may be thrown in the so far smooth path to success rival Daimler, and even Volvo, have had. If approved, the deal would create a giant bigger than both its competitors.

Volkswagen, already a shareholder in MAN, will at first increase its control over MAN from a little over 30 percent to in between 35-40 percent. That should be enough, reckons Volkswagen, to give it regulatory approval without spending a fortune on buying MAN in its entirety.

The Germans have offered EUR95 (1.8 percent below the current market value) per ordinary share and EUR59.9 per preference share, giving at the same time MAN shareholders a two-week period during which to decide on taking or rejecting the offer.

"We will check this offer and give a statement within two weeks," a MAN Trucks spokesman was quoted as saying by just-auto.com. "There is no particular date - there exists in German regulations that you have to do it two weeks after."

According to the official papers, "the remaining business activities of Volkswagen Group and particularly Scania will not be affected by realizing these synergies." Financially speaking, these synergies will help Volkswagen save at least 400 million euros per year from joint purchasing operations.

“This offer represents a further step by Volkswagen towards the creation of an integrated commercial vehicle group consisting of MAN, Scania and Volkswagen," the German group said in a statement.