The US car giant Ford does not rule out a possible takeover of Europe's leading car-maker Volkswagen the head of Ford Europe Mr Nick Scheele suggested in a magazine interview released today.
When asked in an interview to be published in the latest edition of the German monthly Manager Magazinwhether Ford could be seen as a potential buyer of VW, Mr Scheele replied: "We've always bought companies and marques which were actually not considered buyable."
The interview was scheduled to hit the newsstands on Friday but was released in advance.
Despite speculation Ford could be interested in buying VW, the German auto group has consistently denied that it was for sale. In fact, VW is busy drawing up plans to foil any possible takeover bids.
Ford too has merely dismissed such reports as speculation that it was eyeing VW. And a spate of fresh speculation last year caused the US group to say that no negotiations were under way.
Nevertheless the renewed speculation caused VW shares to rise on the Frankfurt stock exchange. Shares in VW hit an intraday high of euro 56.43 - up 3 per cent from yesterday.
AFP