BERLIN — Volkswagen AG has laid out US$2.85 billion to become the biggest shareholder of Swedish truck maker Scania. The deal could mean new talks about combining the company with German truck builder MAN AG.

Above Volkswagen’s head, Porsche Automobil Holding SE has been given clearance from its board to take a majority stake in Volkswagen, according to a report by the Toronto Star. The moves could put Porsche which owns Porsche AG and a nearly 31% stake in Volkswagen AG in a position to also absorb a new commercial truck giant combining Scania with MAN AG, in which Volkswagen holds 29.9%.

The report said Porsche has been steadily raising its stake in Volkswagen for more than a year and won a significant victory last year when the European Union’s highest court ruled that the German government had to remove a cap on voting rights at VW.

Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen, Europe’s biggest automaker by sales, said it had agreed with Scania shareholders Investor AB and the Wallenberg Foundations to buy their combined 134.7 million class A shares of Scania.

–with files from the Toronto Star