DaimlerChrysler Denies Plans for VW Stake

Carmaker DaimlerChrysler on Saturday denied press reports that it was planning to buy into rival Volkswagen and make a deal involving possible cross-shareholdings. "We will not take any Volkswagen shares," said a DaimlerChrysler spokesman after the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ) said the two carmakers were talking about the possibility of acquiring cross-shareholdings. The FAZ said the German-US giant could acquire a 10-percent stake of Volkswagen while the Wolfsburg-based company would take 6.9 percent of DaimlerChrysler shares which are currently being held by Deutsche Bank. The spokesman said that the two companies had discussed a possible tie-up for years but added that the talks had come to nothing. Volkswagen has for years been looking for a stable shareholder to protect Europe's biggest carmaker from a hostile takeover. Last week luxury sports car maker Porsche announced that it aims to raise its stake in VW to from 10 to 20 percent. The aim of that move was to secure Porsche's supply of parts from VW and to protect VW against possible hostile takeovers.