[ac 427]

Originally Posted by Steeroid

I didnt get what you were trying to convey. Can you explain again, please?

It means they have increased their stake in the VW group of companies. But that does not mean they have invested or increased their stake in the other car manufacturers (which are a part of VW stable)

cheers
AC

[Brabus E V12]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Porsche is a hedge fund that makes cars. They have actually outsmarted the short sellers (folks who borrow shares at a high price to sell, in order to buy back later at a low price). All betted that VW would sink in the current crisis. Porsche had fun and beat them at their game! Only problem, they are Porsches customers! Well they can buy VW's now!

Haha I like that! The hedge fund guys got a taste of their own medicine!

[aaggoswami]

Porsche now has increased VW stake to more than 50%.
Source : Official: Porsche Increase Volkswagen Stake to Over 50% - worldcarfans

Article :

Porsche has achieved its goal of owning a majority share of Volkswagen AG.

On Monday, Porsche Automobil Holding SE, based in Stuttgart, Germany, announced that it had acquired further shares in VW and that it now holds 50.76 percent of ordinary voting shares in the German automaker.

Wolfsburg-based Volkswagen had been fighting off a hostile bid by Porsche to control VW for years. But in recent months an agreement was reached between the two companies that has allowed Porsche to gain a larger share of VW stock.

But Porsche still does not have a controlling interest in VW. According to German law, control of a company requires a 75 percent share of the vote at a stockholder meeting. And VW's charter rules have traditionally required an 80% share to exercise control of the company, which has also given the government of Lower-Saxony, which owns a minority stake in VW, veto power over how the company is run. Porsche recently lost a legal bid challenging those rules.

The government of Lower-Saxony owns 20.1 percent of Volkswagen AG.

[MaserQ]

Makes you wonder if Porsche are systematically moving towards the 75-80% controlling stake in VW!! If ever the US auto majors needed someone to run their businesses, they need not look any further than the Porsche bosses!

[f450]

VW, as far as I know, owns Bugatti and Audi amongst other companies. Audi owns Lamborghini. Does this takeover mean that, effectively, Porsche owns Lamborghini and Bugatti?

[evo]

@f450

Very very very relevant point!

I think and Audi and Porsche together will be brilliant. No logical reason, but I just think they fit.

[csentil]

Well one of the most unfortunate side effects of this has been the suicide of a German Billionaire, Adolf Merckle who had gambled with VW stocks going down the drain. He lost 5billion Euro when Porsche revealed that it controlled more than 50% of VW. This caused the stock to shoot up from 210 Euros to 1000 Euros. Merckle had played short and he finally ended up underneath a train ! How sad.

[given2fly]

Well, technically, the history says that porsche cars used to run on VW engines until second world war. After that, britishers had packed VW and almost killed their business until Beetle came along (military version was there since 1930s but was made public later). Even after that, it used the beetle components for a long time and also borrowed parts from Audi whenever required. Anyway, Audi is the engine supplier for Lamborgini sharing its engine with Audi R8 & also shares A4 chasis with Passat. It is a pretty close-knit family finally coming home. All the best for VM-Porsche combine.

[ajmat]

End of the Tom and Jerry show


FT.com / Companies / Automobiles - Porsche and VW agree merger

Volkswagen and Porsche announced plans to merge on Wednesday in a move that would relieve the sports carmaker from its debt burden and bring the 3½-year takeover saga surrounding Europe’s largest carmaker to an end.

After a meeting of the Porsche family owners and VW and Porsche executives in Salzburg, the family clan agreed to create an “integrated car-manufacturing group” with 10 marques united under one roof.

The move would in effect set Porsche aside from the nine existing brands of the VW group and bring the sports carmaker’s hopes of a domination of Europe’s largest carmaker to an end.

“The independence of all brands and explicitly also of Porsche shall be ensured,” Porsche said in a statement.

People close to the situation said the plan to create a new holding company would be preceded by a capital increase of up to €4.5bn ($5.9bn) at the stock market-listed Porsche holding.

Porsche said a task force of Porsche and VW managers, works council representatives from both companies and the state of Lower Saxony aimed to devise final details of the company structure in the next four weeks.

Lower Saxony owns just over 20 per cent in VW and has the right to block crucial decisions such as a merger.

Wednesday’s agreement closed a family schism that had opened between Wolfgang Porsche, chairman of the eponymous carmaker, and Ferdinand Piëch, chairman at VW, in recent weeks.

The headstrong family managers had clashed over how to bail out Porsche, which is ailing under a €9bn debt load from its stake-building at VW.

Mr Porsche had rebuffed an idea by Mr Piëch for VW to take over Porsche AG, the automotive business that is owned by the indebted holding company.

Porsche has used a contentious options strategy and spent about €23bn to gain control of a nearly 51 per cent stake in VW. It had initially aimed to increase that stake to more than 75 per cent to control the carmaker through a domination agreement.

The new car group could aim to attract outside investors. People close to the situation said several sovereign wealth investors from the Middle East, one from Qatar, had expressed interest in investing in a combined VW/Porsche group.

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by ajmat

End of the Tom and Jerry show


Volkswagen and Porsche announced plans to merge on Wednesday in a move that would relieve the sports carmaker from its debt burden and bring the 3½-year takeover saga surrounding Europe’s largest carmaker to an end.

finally it happens. This is just one of the mergers in the new growing trend of unifying manufacturers to end up with probably 10 global auto conglomerates.

[Samir Taheer]

I dont think its the end of the show yet!!

As quoted by AutoCar
"Volkswagen has halted tie-in talks with Porsche, saying the smaller company is not ready for a merger.
VW and Porsche had planned to meet today to develop plans for a tie-in, as a result of Porsche's problems meeting payments on loans it has taken out as it built up its shareholding of VW.
However, these talks have now been called off.
"We recognised at the end of the week that Porsche is lacking several fundamental conditions for the discussions," said a VW spokesman.
It is believed VW wants Porsche to present a clearer idea of how it will restructure in teh wake of the tie-in.
Despite Porsche already owning more than half of VW, it is fighting for influence in the proposed tie-in because of its heavy debts. It is widely expected that any merged company would be run from VW's base, and under the stewardship of current VW executives."

[Bumblebee86]

Words are being exchanged that Qatar Investment Authority, is interested in taking up to 25% of stake in German sports car maker, Porsche. Porsche, which is interested in the deal, would receive a good dose of capital (4.5 billion Euros), that can help the auto maker repair its tattered balance sheet and bolster its bargaining position when arguing for a merger of equals with financially solid Volkswagen. Apparently, Porsche’s move in acquiring Volkswagen's majority stake has saddled the Stuttgart auto maker with 9 billion Euros of net debt. The deal could be announced within weeks.

[Bumblebee86]

Porsche accused Volkswagen and its key shareholder Lower Saxony of extortion following a magazine report that VW and the regional state had demanded Porsche accept a tie-up of the two carmakers with VW in charge. Der Spiegel magazine reported in its online edition on Saturday, that Porsche Chief Executive Wendelin Wiedeking and Chairman Wolfgang Porsche had been pressed to agree by the end of June that VW take a 49 percent stake in Porsche's sports car business for 3-4 billion euros ($4.2-$5.6 billion).
VW had threatened it could insist on Porsche paying back in September a 700 million euro loan VW had provided, if Porsche rejected the offer, Spiegel online said, without citing sources.
Porsche Chairman Wolfgang Porsche and his deputy Uwe Hueck, an employee representative, said in a statement on Saturday they had been given an ultimatum by VW and Lower Saxony.
"We will not accept extortion. ... Ultimatums do not belong in the 21st century," they said.
"We hope very much in the interest of the common goals that the authors of the ultimatum regain their calm and will pursue their proposals in internal talks and not via headlines.."
Spiegel reported that as part of VW's proposal the Emirate of Qatar would buy Porsche's stock options in VW, which would subsequently integrate the Porsche sports car business into its operations.
VW would not comment on the report or on Porsche's response. The Emirate of Qatar was not immediately available for comment.
Porsche, which owns 51 percent of Volkswagen, racked up 9 billion euros ($12.7 billion) debt trying to swallow Volkswagen before the financial crisis threw it off course.
Spiegel reported that under the proposal the merged carmaker would eventually be 40 percent owned by the Porsche and Piech families, 20 percent by Lower Saxony, 15 percent by Qatar, and another sovereign wealth fund would hold 5 percent.
On Friday, Porsche SE said it was close to reaching a deal with Qatar that could help solve its financial problems.
"The negotiations have entered the final stretch," a spokesman for Porsche said on Friday, adding Qatar had finished examining its books. "The due diligence has reached a positive conclusion."


SOURCE: REUTERS

[HappyWheels]

The Tom & Jerry show continues; Porsche rejects VW merger offer.

Article:

FRANKFURT: Porsche, the heavily indebted maker of German luxury sports cars, rejected on Monday a merger offer by Volkswagen, Europe's biggest
car maker.

"There is an offer by Volkswagen. For us it is not a practical way," a Porsche spokesman said.

In the event of a merger, a credit worth 10.75 billion euros (15 billion dollars) agreed to by a consortium of banks in favour of Porsche would have to be renegotiated "right away," he added.

A press report said over the weekend that VW had presented a merger proposition to Porsche which would proceed via cross shareholdings, with VW taking a stake of 49.9% in Porsche.

Porsche currently owns 51% of the shares in VW.

The plan "was transmitted to Wolfgang Porsche last week," but "it has not been brought to the attention of the Porsche board," the spokesman said.

Relations between the two car makers have deteriorated in recent weeks, as well as between the owners of Porsche, the Porsche and Piech families.

Source : Porsche rejects VW merger offer - International Business - Business - The Times of India

[Bumblebee86]

Press Release

Integrated automotive group: Volkswagen will take a 49.9 percent stake in Porsche AG in first step

Wolfsburg, 20 October 2009 - Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft will take a 49.9 percent stake in Porsche AG in a first step towards an integrated automotive group with Porsche. This was agreed between Volkswagen and Porsche SE during negotiations on the contracts of implementation relating to the merger of the two companies. The Comprehensive Agreement announced in August referred to an initial participation in Porsche AG amounting to 42 percent. The timetable for the creation of the integrated automotive group remains unchanged: Volkswagen will acquire a participation in the operating business of Porsche by the end of 2009. The merger of Volkswagen AG and Porsche SE is still scheduled to take place during the course of 2011.

The adjustment of the envisaged initial participation reflects the successful progress of negotiations between Volkswagen and Porsche concerning the details of the merger which have been taking place since the Comprehensive Agreement was approved. These negotiations indicate that the projects identified for a closer cooperation have been making swifter progress than initially anticipated. This positive development for both companies, which is an expression of the compelling industrial logic behind the merger, is now to be underscored by a larger participation in Porsche AG. Volkswagen is thus securing a higher share of the increase in the value of Porsche expected from the joint projects at an early stage. At the same time, Volkswagen remains committed to the phased integration of the two companies and is preserving the independence and the interests of Porsche.

Based on the enterprise value calculated for Porsche AG, Volkswagen is expected to pay approximately EUR 3.9 billion for the participation in the company. An increase in Volkswagen's preferred share capital is planned for the first half of 2010 in order to refinance the participation and maintain Volkswagen's good credit rating. Shareholders will be requested to adopt a resolution authorizing such an increase at an Extraordinary General Meeting on December 3.