MAN buys EUR560m stake in Sinotruk

Shanghai, July 17 (Gasgoo.com) German truck maker and engineering company MAN SE said Wednesday that it would pay EUR560m for a 25 per cent stake in Sinotruk, China's largest manufacturer of heavy trucks, in a deal for the two parties to jointly tap into emerging export markets.

Through the deal MAN will become the company's second-biggest shareholder in Sinotruck, next to its parent China National Heavy Duty Truck Corp, which holding 51%.

Sinotruk aimed to produce the new trucks using MAN technology that the German company license to it within the next two to three years, said MAN CEO Hakan Samuelsson.

He added that the trucks would be targeted for export to markets including Brazil, Russia, Africa and India.

China National Heavy Duty Truck, which is controlled by the Shandong provincial government, first licensed MAN technologies in the early 1980s.

"Sinotruk and MAN will work together closely to shape our future and maintain our position as one of the leading heavy truck manufacturers," said Sinotruck Chairman Chunji Ma.

Sinotruk sold about 100,000 heavy trucks in 2008 and accounts for a market share of about 20% in China. In 2008, it posted revenue of approximately 26 billion yuan ($3.81 billion) and reported earnings before interest and tax of 1.25 billion yuan.