FRANKFURT (Reuters) - German state railways operator Deutsche Bahn (DBN.UL) plans to seek damages from truckmakers including Daimler (DE:DAIGn) and Volkswagen (DE:VOWG_p) subsidiary MAN which were found to have been operating an illegal cartel by the European Union in 2011.
Deutsche Bahn spokeswoman confirmed a report in the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper which said the company would file a claim in the coming days to a Munich regional court, where it would also act on behalf of the German army and 40 other companies.
It was not immediately clear what sum Deutsche Bahn would seek. The European Commission fined the manufacturers 3.8 billion euros (3.36 billion pounds) for collusion which ran between 1997 and 2011.
The cartel included Daimler, Iveco, DAF, Volvo/Renault (PA:RENA) and MAN. All were fined, except for MAN which cooperated with the EU's cartel investigation.
Deutsche Bahn's own logistics firm, Schenker, wants to act before the statute of limitations renders claims invalid, the newspaper said, citing sources familiar with the matter.