Porsche takes effective control of VW

FRANKFURT: German sports car maker Porsche said it had raised its stake in Volkswagen to 35 per cent Tuesday, effectively winning control of Europe's biggest automaker.

Porsche said in a statement it had boosted its stake in Volkswagen to 35.14 per cent from 31 per cent, giving it a "permanent majority at the VW general assembly." The move makes VW an "effective" Porsche unit under German shareowner and takeover law.

"The goal remains to increase our stake in Volkswagen to more than 50 per cent," Porsche chief Wendelin Wiedeking said.
"Today's step is a further milestone along the way."

Despite recent tensions between the management of the two German automaking legends, Porsche said it looked "forward to the continuation and deepening of the trusting cooperation with the Volkswagen board."

It added that it hoped for a quick resolution of the conflict between the works councils of Porsche and VW.

VW's works committee is wary of the takeover and of Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking for crossing swords with the trade unions, which are extremely powerful at VW.

Porsche has said since early March that it planned to take over the much bigger VW. It said Tuesday that it planned to increase its stake in VW again in the coming months, pending approval from regulators.

It is also seeking to counter efforts by the German government and the state of Lower Saxony, where VW is based, to retain a blocking minority held by the state, which owns around 20 per cent of the shares in VW.