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February 27, 2007 11:00 AM, EST

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Volkswagen AG has boosted its stake in German truck maker MAN AG to 29.9% from 20%, as part of an effort to create Europe’s largest truck maker in a combination including Swedish competitor Scania AB, Bloomberg reported Tuesday. The 9.9% increase was worth 1.2 billion euros, or about $1.6 billion, according to Monday’s closing price for MAN, Bloomberg said.The automaker expects a “high synergy potential” from a merger of MAN and Scania, Volkswagen said in a statement.Volkswagen, the largest investor in both MAN and Scania, has pushed for a merger between the two commercial-vehicle manufacturers and its own Brazilian heavy-truck unit to challenge DaimlerChrysler AG and Volvo AB, the two largest producers in the global truck making industry, Bloomberg said.Volkswagen last month rejected MAN’s hostile takeover bid for Scania, since thwarted, saying it instead favored a “friendly” transaction.(Click here for previous coverage.)