Daimler Saturday declined to comment on rumours that Swedish investor Cevian Capital is planning to take a major stake in the German vehicle maker with the aim of pushing through the sale of the truck division, reported dpa. Selling off Daimler Trucks "is not an issue for us," a company spokesman told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa in Stuttgart, where Daimler has its headquarters. He declined to comment on rumours that Cevian aimed to take a substantial stake in the company, which has seen its share price virtually halve since October last year to trade at under 40 euros (57 dollars) on Friday. "Every investor is welcome to us," the spokesman said with regard to the Cevian rumours. Germany's Focus weekly news magazine said Cevian aimed to take a stake in order to push through a major restructuring, including the sale of the commercial vehicle division and the separate listing or sale of Daimler Trucks. Focus said Cevian had taken a stake of 2 per cent in Daimler with the aim of raising this in a bid to pressure the company in cooperation with other investors. The head of Daimler's works council, Erich Klemm, told the German weekly Der Spiegel he was "unsettled" by the rumours. He said workers would resist any attempt to break up the traditional German concern which started out as Daimler-Benz in 1926. Daimler is seen by many analysts as ripe for a bid after disposing of 80 per cent of its ailing Chrysler division last year.
