Entrepreneur Victor Muller has reduced his stake in luxury car maker Spyker to under 30%, so avoiding being forced to bring out a bid for all the shares outstanding.

Muller has placed 145 million shares with trust companies Tenaci and Laviolette, the Financieele Dagblad reports. Both entities, based in Curacao, are not connected to him, the paper quotes Muller as saying.
The sale means Muller now holds a 24.1% stake in Spyker, down from 70.1%. Muller wants to breathe new life into Spyker following his abortive venture into the mass car market through Swedish company Saab, which has now gone bankrupt.