VW gains control of MAN with stake increase

Reuters reports Volkswagen has upped its stake in Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-Nürnberg – better known as MAN – from 73.76 per cent to a full 75 per cent. While that may seem like a slight jump, the move allows Volkswagen to ask for a domination agreement, which would give the automaker full control over the commercial vehicle company. Volkswagen and Audi currently share a similar understanding. MAN shares increased by around 9 per cent on the news, with some investors believing Volkswagen could pay as much as US$118 per share in a takeover bid.

Technically, Volkswagen hasn't made a decision on either a takeover or a domination agreement, though the company says it's keeping all of its options open at the moment. CEO Martin Winterkorn says the larger stake in MAN "marks an important milestone for achieving our joint goals in the commercial vehicles business as elsewhere through close cooperation." Just how close that cooperation will become in the near future remains to be seen.

Volkswagen has been slowly increasing its stake in MAN for the past year.