(Recasts, adds VW does not rule out Man takeover of Brazil truck ops)
FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Volkswagen AG. chief executive Martin Winterkorn does not rule out the possibility that MAN AG. could takeover VW's truck business in Brazil, according to an interview with tomorrow's edition of Handelsblatt newspaper.
Asked whether MAN could takeover the truck business of VW in Brazil, Winterkorn replied: 'That is certainly one of the various imaginable options, (but) that is currently not up for any decision.'
Winterkorn also said there is no need for a three-way truck merger involving Scania AB. and MAN.
'We do not need a merger of the three brands in order to reap synergy effects. We will not create a company out of these three strong brands,' he said.
He said the strategy lies in creating synergies through joint purchasing and technology development.
VW announced in March that it has signed deals with two major shareholders of Scania to acquire 134.7 million A-shares in the latter, thereby increasing VW's voting rights in the Swedish truck maker to 68.60 percent.
VW owns a nearly 30 percent stake in MAN, which in turn holds 17 percent voting rights in Scania. marilyn.gerlach@thomsonreuters.com mog/hjp/mog/hjp COPYRIGHT Copyright Thomson Financial News Limited 2008. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of Thomson Financial News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Thomson Financial News.