MAN truck raises voting stake in Scania to 15.6 pct

German truckmaker MAN AG raised its voting stake in Swedish rival Scania to 15.57 percent, the companies said on Friday, rekindling prospects of a long-sought merger.

A MAN spokesman said the move reflected its strategic interest in closer cooperation with Scania, which last year rebuffed a takeover bid by the German industrial group that would have created the European truck market leader.

MAN had held a 14.8 percent voting stake in Scania, but the spokesman said it had arranged a share swap with another large investor that increases its number of Scania "A" shares, which carry more votes.

"They have bought 3.6 million 'A' shares and sold a corresponding number of 'B' shares," said Cecelia Edstrom, a Scania spokeswoman.

Scania "B" shares rose as much as 4.6 percent to 158 crowns and were still up 3 percent at 155.50 by 1153 GMT. Its "A" stock was up 4 percent, while MAN shares edged up 0.2 percent to 110.43 euros.

The two companies had agreed a cooling-off period after MAN's hostile approach triggered nasty exchanges and exposed bad blood between top managers even though MAN CEO Hakan Samuelsson is a Swede.

The companies are examining a merger that would also include Volkswagen's trucks business. VW is the biggest investor in both Scania and MAN.

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