March 3, 2008 -- Porsche's supervisory board gave the go-ahead for the luxury German sports carmaker to take a majority stake in its bigger rival and Europe's largest carmaker Volkswagen. The move, authorized by Porsche's supervisory body, will amount to an investment of almost €10 billion, the car maker said. Porsche is set to increase its 31 percent voting stake in Volkswagen to a majority but does not intend to merge the two carmakers, it said on Monday.
"Our goal is to create one of the world's most innovative and efficient automobile alliances that will be able to meet the growing international competitive challenges," Porsche chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking said. Weideking said Porsche would seek the approval of competition authorities for its move, but warned that it could take up to six months before a decision is reached. Porsche said in a statement it had instructed management to start all steps needed to gain regulatory and antitrust approval for the move. "The reviews by the regulatory authorities are expected to take several months. As soon as the requisite clearances have been obtained, Porsche SE can acquire the majority of the shares in Volkswagen," it said. "Porsche has positioned its chess pieces in such a way that nothing might happen. They don't need to be in a hurry," said Mirko Pillep, a share market strategist at German bank Helaba.
Source: AMT
