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FRANKFURT, Oct 4 (Reuters) Volkswagen bought a 15.06 percent stake in German truckmaker MAN AG, it said on Wednesday, underscoring its intentions to build a three-way truck alliance between VW, MAN and Swedish rival Scania .

''In principle there is a high degree of potential for synergies between MAN and Scania. In order to realise these quickly, it is essential that the two management teams work in a cooperative environment,'' Volkswagen, which is also Scania's largest shareholder, said in a statement.

''In our opinion a hostile takeover does not encourage this,'' it continued.

At a price of around 70 euros, the MAN stake would be worth about 1.55 billion euros ($1.97 billion).

Volkswagen said the stake would secure its own strategic interest in the truck business through, for example, the possible integration of VW's Brazilian truck business.

MAN has launched an unsolicited 9.6 billion euro cash and stock bid for Scania that VW reaffirmed on Wednesday did not reflect the fair value of its 34 percent voting rights stake in MAN's Swedish rival.

A spokesman for the German truckmaker said MAN welcomed Volkswagen as a strategic investor and viewed the purchase as a positive move in connection with its Scania bid.

Having rallied sharply in the past two trading sessions on talk of a VW-Scania joint counterbid for MAN, shares in the German truckmaker fell 8 percent to 68.05 euros by 1102 GMT after Volkswagen added that it had no plans to launch a full takeover offer for MAN.

REUTERS DKS HS1936