Volkswagen Raises $2.7bn for Scania Buyout

Volkswagen has raised €2bn from a share sale to fund parts of its buyout of Swedish truckmaker Scania.

VW on 4 June said it had issued 10.47 million new preference shares at €191 (£155.36, $260.05) each in an accelerated book building with institutional investors.

The German group also proposes to draw another €2bn from its cash reserves and issue hybrid capital worth €3bn to finance the Scania deal. VW has cash reserves of €17.7bn.

VW shares were down 1.14% to €190.20 at 13:00 CEST in Frankfurt.

Volkswagen has long held a sizeable stake in Scania but wants full control now.

A deal will see VW integrate Scania with its own truck manufacturing arm MAN to compete with rivals Daimler and Volvo.

VW said in May that its €6.7bn takeover offer bagged sufficient support from minority shareholders at Scania, paving the way for Europe's largest carmaker to assume complete control of the Swedish firm.

VW is the world's second-largest automaker after Japan's Toyota Motor. VW's brands include Porsche, Audi and Skoda.

Porsche Lawsuit

Porsche board members Wolfgang Porsche and his cousin Ferdinand Piech, both grandsons of founder Ferdinand Porsche, are facing a lawsuit from seven hedge funds over the carmaker's failed takeover attempt of Volkswagen.

Investors including US hedge fund Elliott Associates have sought €1.8bn in damages from the family business.

Porsche failed in its attempt to take over Volkswagen as it fell short of buying the required 75% stake.