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Volvo in truck sale talks
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September 20, 2000: 4:11 a.m. ET
Report: Swedish truck co may sell 45% stake in Scania to Germany's VW
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LONDON (CNNfn) - Swedish truck maker AB Volvo is negotiating the sale of its stake in rival Scania AB to Volkswagen AG, a move that would give the German auto maker control of Scania, according to a published report on Wednesday.
Volvo, which sold its car division to Ford Motor Co. (F: Research, Estimates) in early 1999 to concentrate on heavy trucks, hit a roadblock in its expansion plans when European competition regulators in March vetoed a proposed $7 billion merger with Scania.
That meant Volvo, the world's No. 4 truck maker, has to find a buyer for its 45.5 percent stake in Scania. Volkswagen, which wants to beef up its truck business, acquired 18.7 percent of Scania in March and holds 34 percent of Scania's voting rights, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Volvo spokesman Mats Edenborg told the newspaper that the Swedish company's top priority in selling the stake was getting the best price. The report said Volkswagen (FVOW) declined to comment.
Speculation that Volkswagen was planning to buy a majority stake in Scania had heightened Friday, when VW said it would buy back 10 percent of its own shares - giving it stock that it could use for an acquisition.
The WSJ said it was unclear whether VW would use the repurchased stock to swap for shares in Scania, because VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech might not relish handing Volvo a sizeable shareholding in the German automaker. 
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