Volvo in bid for Japanese truck firm

Truck maker Volvo offered early today to acquire Nissan Diesel Motor Co. for $1.07 billion in cash.

Nissan Diesel’s board supported the offer of $4.52 a share, 32% more than the Japanese company’s average share price during the last three months.

Volvo, which is based in Goteborg, Sweden, bought a 13% stake in Nissan Diesel in March from Tokyo-based Nissan Motor Co.

It increased its holding to 19% in September.

At that time, Volvo said the deal would help balance the company’s offerings of heavy trucks and give it broader geographical reach in Asia.

Nissan Diesel holds a market share in Japan of about 24% in heavy trucks and 15% in the medium-heavy segment.

Volvo, which has 83,000 employees and is the world’s second-largest truck maker after DaimlerChrysler, sold its car division to Ford Motor Co. in 1999.