MANNESMANN CONSIDERING MAJORITY STAKE IN FICHTEL A Mannesmann AG <MMWG.F> spokesman said the company has lodged an application with the Federal Cartel Office for approval of a possible majority stake in car parts company <Fichtel und Sachs AG>. He described the application as a precautionary move and said no agreement on buying a majority stake had yet been reached. Until now Mannesmann has said only that it wanted to buy a 37.5 pct stake in Fichtel from the heirs of Ernst Wilhelm Sachs, the grandson of the firm's founder. The spokesman declined to say from whom it may buy the other shares to create a majority stake in the firm. Fichtel's other principal shareholders are Commerzbank AG <CBKG.F>, with 35.01 pct, and Salzgitter AG <ISLG.F>, with 24.98 pct. Spokesmen declined to comment directly on the possibility of selling Fichtel shares to Mannesmann. Mannesmann said in January it hoped to take a 37.5 pct stake in Fichtel's holding company Sachs AG in the first quarter. Last week a spokesman said Mannesmann had a letter of intent on the 37.5 pct stake but completion was being delayed by legal questions surrounding the inheritance.