Porsche's supervisory board approved Monday a plan that will allow the company to acquire a majority stake (over 50 percent) in Volkswagen AG, Europe's number one auto group. The whole process could take several months, though.

Barring any unforeseen turn of events, Porsche will become the majority owner of Volkswagen, with the short-term goal of establishing one of the strongest and most innovative automobile alliances in the world, one that would be able to measure up to the increased international competition. However, Porsche Automobil Holding SE is not planning a merger with Volkswagen.

Based on the current price for Volkswagen's ordinary shares (around 150 Euros), the transaction corresponds to an investment of almost 10 billion Euros, Porsche said. The move also means that VW can afford not to worry about a foreign takeover.

Just a few hours earlier, VW confirmed that it is pursuing a majority stake in Swedish truck maker Scania. The resulting empire would help Porsche Automobil Holding SE overtake rivals like Volvo AB and Daimler AG as Europe's biggest truck maker.