"Volkswagen AG said Wednesday it will take over in August the remaining 50.1% stake in Porsche Automobil Holding SE's sportscar unit it doesn't already own for 4.46 billion euros in cash plus one common share, as the two German auto makers hammered out an accelerated deal to reap more cost synergies faster.
"The unique Porsche brand will now become an integral part of the Volkswagen Group--that is good for Volkswagen, good for Porsche and good for Germany as an industrial location," Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn said in a statement.
The final agreement to add Porsche to Volkswagen's stable of 10 car and truck brands draws a line under one of the most spectacular takeover bids in the European car industry in recent years, which eventually backfired badly.
Porsche initially acquired a minority stake in Volkswagen to benefit from better economies of scale, but then bypassed disclosure rules through a complex set of stock options to acquire additional voting stock in Volkswagen. When Porsche revealed in October 2008 that it had direct and indirect access to almost 75% of Volkswagen's voting stock, VW's common stock skyrocketed above EUR1,000 per share and temporarily made the Wolfsburg, Germany, firm the world's most valuable company.
Mr. Winterkorn also became CEO of Porsche's holding company after Porsche's ill-fated attempt to take over the much larger Volkswagen finally collapsed in 2009. After a fierce power struggle that raged for more than two years, Porsche had to finally agreed to a deal under Volkswagen's leadership as its debt ballooned in the wake of the financial crisis." [Read more]
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