MAN drops hostile bid and goes for merger
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MAN HAS WITHDRAWN its hostile takeover bid for Scania and is now seeking a friendly merger with the Swedish truck manufacturer and Volkswagen's South American truck business.
The German truck giant has ended a lengthy takeover battle by withdrawing its €10.2bn (16.7m) takeover bid. MAN says talks with Scania and its shareholders will continue in a bid to exploit possible synergies between the companies.
Scania has welcomed MAN's move, saying it is open for talks as long as they are based on "industrial and commercial logic-.
The hostile hid had been opposed by Scania and its two main shareholders, Investor and Volkswagen. Volkswagen, also a major shareholder in MAN, wants to combine with the two truck manufacturers in a three-way merger to strengthen its Brazil-based South American truck business.
• Scania's year-end report shows 2006 was a record year: pre-tax profit was up 27% to 1621.6m on turnover up 12% to£5.12bn.
• Responding to reports about the possible dismissal of MAIN CEO Mikan Samuelsson, MAIN says: "Coverage in today's press prompted the standing committee of the MAN Supervisory Board to reinforce their unanimous support for the position of Mr Hakan Samuelsson as CEO of MAN AG and express their complete trust in him."