Efforts are ongoing to try to find an amicable way of merging MAN and Scania.
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Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech and Swedish industrialist and chairman of Scania’s second largest shareholder, Investor, Jacob Wallenberg were reported to have taken matters into their own hands and held a meeting at the beginning of the week.
According to dpa-AFX news, MAN chairman Ekkehard Schulz, was also at the meeting, although none of the parties have officially confirmed that the meeting took place, or what stage negotiations have reached.
Who will take the lead role in the merged company appears to be an issue – Investor has spoken out against MAN taking the dominant role. “We must make sure that one plus one does not equal one,” said its chief executive Börje Ekholm in Stockholm yesterday.
MAN’s proposed takeover of Scania, which has been rejected by shareholders, assumed a headquarters in Germany. Yesterday, MAN reinforced its dominance by announcing strong sales figures for 2006, with growth outperforming the market twofold.
Investor does see long-term industrial advantages to working with MAN, according to the news agency. It considered the MAN takeover as hostile, but wants to see a better solution worked out carefully between all the parties involved.
Notably absent from recent meetings and discussions were MAN chief executive Hakan Samuelsson and Scania chief executive Leif Östling. Relations between the two former colleagues have been very hostile, and not inducive to finding an amicable solution.
