£1bn Scania stake snapped up by VW
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by Colin Barnett
As CM predicted two weeks ago, the blocking of Volvo's intended takeover of Scania by the European Commission's Competition Commission has stimulated an epidemic of merger and acquisition fever.
On the eve of the CV Show it
was announced that Volkswagen had bought 21bn worth of Scania shares from the Investor group, giving it 340/s of the votes and 18.7% of the capital. Investor is committed to holding its remaining stake in Scania (15.3% votes and 9.1% capital) for at least two years.
VW's move is the first stage in its declared intention to expand into the European HGV sector, but this is not the first connection between the two firms—Scania has been importing Rs into Sweden for half a century.
Volvo still has 30.6% of Scania votes and 45.5% of capital and. although Investor says that VW is not making any offer for the remaining Scania shares, that is likely to change in the light of persistent industry rumours that Volvo has turned its attention on Renault.
Although Renault is understood to prefer an equal partnership, on the basis of a share swap, industry analysts are expecting Volvo to push for an outright acquisition within a few weeks.
The combination of Volvo and Renault would create a major force both in Europe and North America.
Volvo certainly needs to do something soon, as the cur
rent climate has left it in a "buy or be bought" situation with a number of potential purchasers, believed to be led by Fiat, waiting in the wings.
Things have also been busy down at the lighter end of the market. When the current game of musical chairs ends. DaimlerChrysier is expected to end up as one of half-dozen global automotive groups left with a seat.
It continues to live up to these expectations by forming an "alliance" with Mitsubishi Motors, having acquired 34% of its shares for 21.3m. The deal includes cars and pickups, but excludes Mitsubishi's medium and heavy truck operations.
DainderChrysler has also taken the half of the Dutchbased NedCar engine production facility previously owned by Volvo (Ford).
Ford, meanwhile, has salvaged Land Rover out of BMW's dismantling of the Rover Group, and General Motors has formed a partnership with the Fiat Group to share long-term development costs. GM has also acquired the remaining half of the Saab car business from Scania.