Porsche made the move, raising their controlling stake in Volkswagen from 31% to 35.4% yesterday, which is part of Porsche's plan to reach 51% before year end, giving them full control, without the need even for voting from shareholders. This could effectively displace the company Volkswagen AG, which combined with Audi, Skoda, Lamborghini, Bentley and Seat as the largest auto manufacturer in Europe, and currently ranks third in the world behind GM and Toyota - to have a 'name swap' on the ranking boards, where now the moniker of a supercar manufacturer could be at the top of the charts. Porsche even offered Volkswagen a buyout of Audi's remaining public share at 487 Euros per share, with a total of roughly 370,000 shares available. Thou Porsche had repeatedly mentioned they have no intention to separate Audi from Volkswagen, this hostile takeover by Porsche on Volkswagen, two companies that with histories closely knitted and intertwined, which would eventually lead to the impeachment of VW Chairman Ferdinand Piech (Grandnephew of Ferdinand Porsche - Founder of VW) by the movement lead by Porsche Chairman Wolfgang Porsche (Son of Ferry Porsche - Founder of Porsche and son of Ferdinand Porsche).The immediate worries of this hostile takeover would still be the protective rights of the VW worker's union, which traditionally have been very powerful throughout VW's board, and a great support to current Chairman Ferdinand Piech, a legendary person with outstanding track records of bringing Audi to world stage, pushing VW into the top 5 manufacturers, and the man who singlehandedly 'forced' the creation of the Bugatti Veyron. In return for the takeover, VW's board will now also have a seat in Porsche's board.
1 comment:
So, they will call it Porsche Group or something? Interesting. Porsche and VW have been interconnected since Beetle days anyway.
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