German automotive giant Volkswagen is set to acquire the entire stake in Swedish commercial vehicle maker Scania for EUR6.7bn.
The company currently holds a total of 89.2% of the voting rights and 62.6% of the capital of Scania.
Because of the legal restrictions to protect the minority shareholders in Scania, it is not possible for Volkswagen to leverage full cooperation at an operational level between Volkswagen and Scania; and between MAN and Scania.
The move will enable Volkswagen to remove the current obstacles to cooperation and enable key joint projects to be implemented.
Volkswagen will not make any structural changes at Scania regarding to its employees, production locations and development centers.
Acceptance period for the offer to Scania is expected to start from 17 March 2014 to 25 April 2014. With this transaction, Volkswagen will hold over 90% of stake in the commercial vehicle manufacturer.
Volkswagen commercial vehicles board of management member Leif stling said that the plan to fully integrate Scania into the Volkswagen Group follows a compelling industrial logic.
"It will significantly improve the capabilities, efficiency and flexibility of the commercial vehicles group comprising Scania, MAN and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, for example by implementing a common toolkit strategy similar to the one used in our passenger cars," stling added.
This transaction will open new opportunities, including future Group-wide responsibility for certain systems and components, or the increased use of the Volkswagen Group's global presence.
Image: Volkswagen will acquire Scania. Photo: Courtesy of Scania AB.
