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April 5, 2000 10:50 AM, EDT

Volkswagen AG agreed to buy more than 30 million shares of Scania to become the largest owner of the Swedish truck and bus maker.

	Scania
	By acquiring a major piece of Scania, Germany’s Volkswagen gains access to the Swedish manufacturer’s heavy-truck market.

The German automaker’s action ends speculation over the next suitor of Scania, which saw a proposed marriage with national rival Volvo AB rejected March 14 by the European Union over antitrust concerns ("EU Rejects Volvo-Scania Bid to Wed," 3-20, p. 36).

“Volkswagen has made a strategic decision to expand in the area of heavy commercial trucks, in line with our long-term strategy,” said Ferdinand Piech, chairman of the management board at VW. “Scania is the world’s leading brand when it comes to trucks, and we are happy to deepen our commitment to the company, which has been the Swedish importer of Volkswagen for more than 50 years.”

Volkswagen announced plans March 27 to purchase 37.4 million Scania shares for $1.6 billion from Investor AB, a Swedish investment company. If approved by the boards of directors at both companies, VW will have 34% of the votes in Scania, and 18.7% of its capital.

For the full story, see the Apr. 3 print edition of Transport Topics. .