The Volkswagen supervisory board is due to discuss completing the buy-out of Porsche AG on the 14 February, according to reports from Germany.
VW already owns 49.9 percent of the carmaker and, according to the reports, it is preparing to purchase the other 50.1 percent. German magazine Der Spiegel says VW will pay £3.2bn ‘plus taxes’ for the stake, the same price it paid in December 2009.
VW first stepped in when Porsche’s parent company was close to collapse in the wake of the credit crunch and Porsche’s attempt to takeover VW itself.
Under the ambitious leadership of Wendelin Wiedeking, Porsche had tried a reverse takeover of VW, building up a 50 percent stake in the giant carmaker before the slump took hold, leaving Porsche AG with massive debts.
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Re: VW poised for Porsche buy-out
I can not agree more on this with you.
Time will tell, but I do feel that this scenario will not be a horror one.
Because of that I had a dream in which, as an utter punishment ,I was his teacher in English language!
Re: VW poised for Porsche buy-out
Wishful thinking? This is VAG we're talking about here.
Re: VW poised for Porsche buy-out
In which case VW won't seek to take outright ownership of Porsche, instead VW will co-produce the odd vehicle as in the past leaving Porsche an independent company .....
I don't think so.
We might hear nice noises to that effect eminate from VW, but why will strong minded Porsche engineers and designers willingly submit their ideas to VW for approval after years of independence? Another layer of bureaucracy. Come to think of it, which of Porsche's executives will be the first to leave knowing a career under the VW whip is unacceptable?
What happens to Porsche's investments in the automotive industry? Will VW see them as spoils of war or assets to strip? And if the economy gets any worse will we be told Porsche cars are to be sold in VW dealerships - raise the prestige of the VW badge - and all Porsche dealerships other than a few in German cities "closed to economise on scale and outlets."
In any event, will the German government approve of a takeover? Will they see it as a safe bet in the medium-to-long term? Like newspaper proprieters taking over too many media companies and outlets, will they see it as an unhealthy merger, anti-democratic? A good few did when the boot was on the other foot. What will the unions say? It isn't a matter for Piech to knock his pipe on the mantlepiece and say, "We buy Porsche in the morning, gentlemen. Now let's have dinner."
Make no mistake: Corporate monoliths demand comformity. In the end, they all sell hamburgers.