VW moves to acquire all Scania shares

Volkswagen is seeking to acquire the remaining shares in Scania it doesn't yet own, in a deal said to be worth Euro $6.7 billion

German auto heavyweight Volkswagen has made an offer to secure a 100 per cent stake in Swedish truck firm Scania.

Volkswagen currently owns 89.2 per cent of the voting rights in Scania and 62.6 per cent of its capital, but full ownership would allow the German giant to leverage greater cooperation between the two companies, and also between MAN and Scania, because under the current ownership structure there are legal restrictions in place to protect minority shareholders.

Volkswagen has offered SEK 200 (approximately Euro 22.26) per share to Scania shareholders, putting the value of the offer for the 298,910, 903 shares not presently held by VW at around Euro 6.7 billion. The offer is said to correspond to an attractive premium of 57 per cent per Scania A share and 53.3 per cent per Scania B share.

The Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft, Martin Winterkorn, said the offer represented a logical progression in VW’s influence.

“With its premium products, its strong market position and its technological expertise, Scania is a core element of the integrated commercial vehicles group that we intend to accomplish under the umbrella of the Volkswagen Group,” he said.

“Our offer is designed to create a sustainable and clear ownership structure for Scania. This is a key step towards being able to fully exploit the advantages offered by the integrated commercial vehicles group for everyone involved.

“Our offer reflects this high strategic value. We are convinced that is very attractive for Scania’s shareholders and will create long-term value for Volkswagen.”

Leif Östling, a member of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG responsible for Commercial Vehicles, said the offer paved the way to an exciting future for both companies.

“The plan to fully integrate Scania into the Volkswagen Group follows a compelling industrial logic,” he said.

“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.”

The acceptance period for the offer begins on March 17, 2014 and extends through to April 25, 2014.

Volkswagen has owned a stake in Scania since 2000.

VW moves to acquire all Scania shares

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