Volkswagen reportedly comes to terms with Stuttgart leadership to absorb Porsche
The family soap opera surrounding the attempted takeover over of Volkswagen by Porsche may soon conclude if a reported deal is approved next week. Porsche SE, the holding company that owns automaker Porsche AG, has attempted to secure its independence by acquiring a controlling interest in Volkswagen. Unfortunately for Porsche, the economic downturn has put the company in danger of insolvency thanks to a hefty debt load. In the midst of all the financial maneuverings, a personal drama has steadily unfolded as well. Porsche is controlled by the descendants of Ferdinand Porsche's children, Ferry Porsche and Louise Piëch. The leaders of the Porsche and Piëch branches of the family, Wolfgang Porsche and Ferdinand Piëch, have been at odds throughout this entire process. Piëch is chairman of VW's supervisory board, while cousin Wolfgang holds a similar position at the family business. As the sequence of events progressed, it appeared that Wolfgang Porsche was trying to oust his cousin, while Ferdinand Piëch was trying to eliminate Porsche CEO Wendelin Weideking.
It now appears that the two companies have reached an agreement that will allow Porsche SE pay off much of its €10 billion+ debt. If approved, Volkswagen would pay €8 billion for Porsche in two stages. The first would give VW 49.9%, with the rest coming at a later date.
[Source: Reuters | Image: David Hecker/Getty]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
italy430 3:18PM (7/18/2009)
I may be stupid but VW would "pay €8 billion for Porsche in two stages. The first would give VW 49.9%, with the rest coming at a later date"... what does that mean? I thought Porsche was "buying" VW? paying Porsche the first stage would give VW 49.9% of what?
How is Porsche paying for the controlling stake in VW? How much of VW does Porsche own right now?
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CT A 3:21PM (7/18/2009)
It's the other way around. VW is buying Porsche.
James 4:12PM (7/18/2009)
Looks like "cannibalism" really runs deep in the VW/Porsche family...
CT A 3:27PM (7/18/2009)
Porsche tried to buy VW but they over borrowed (or something like that) and are in desperate need of money so VW is buying Porsche so Porsche doesn't go bankrupt.
To do this, the payment will be in two stages. VW is going to buy a 49.8% stake (ownership) in Porsche first then the rest (51.1%) later which will give VW 100% control of Porsche.
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CT A 3:28PM (7/18/2009)
dang reply button =/..
italy430 3:38PM (7/18/2009)
wow I must have missed a lot not following this every day!... so it basically flipped on them and VW is now buying Porsche?! haha
hmm I wonder how that's gonna go. Porsche owners already get made fun of for having a supped up Beetle, i'll bet that comment is gonna get a whole lot more popular! not saying I agree with it tho, Porsche makes some great cars. But from a simple guess, VW can benefit from Porsche's technology and Porsche can benefit from VW's processing/manufacturering and sharing parts?? it'll be interesting to see what happens to both manufacturers in the next few years.
info 5:25PM (7/18/2009)
There will be no 100% ownership of Porsche by VW. 20% of Porsche is owned by the state of Lower Saxony and reportedly, Quatar will own between 17% and 19% (approximately).
djuro 5:49PM (7/18/2009)
@info ... uhh no... lower saxony owns 20% of vw, thats what screwed up the whole takeover, and the reason vw is buying porsche is so that they wont be needing the loan from the qatari government
info 11:45AM (7/19/2009)
>>>"@info ... uhh no... lower saxony owns 20% of vw, thats what screwed up the whole takeover, and the reason vw is buying porsche is so that they wont be needing the loan from the qatari government"
info 11:51AM (7/19/2009)
I don't know what happened to my last reply to djuro. Only my quoting him showed up. I answered that I don't know if he reads German. I do, and according to the German magazine Spiegel, Qatar will own between 14.9% and 19.9% of Porsche.
D Fisk 3:37PM (7/18/2009)
Hey at least it wasn't the india or japan buying the company. Could you see little porsche tata's or yaris's driving around.
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Val 3:59PM (7/18/2009)
Well Jaguar is owned by tata and they have put out some very impressive cars recently. True, they might have been designed while still under ford, but still, there is no Jaguar Nano, and never will be. Tata is preserving the same people in the company, although it is losing $1m a day
swe 3:51PM (7/18/2009)
Oh, the irony. I hope VW doesn't change Porsche's for the worse.
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info 5:26PM (7/18/2009)
Why would they? Have they changed Lamborghini? Have they changed Bently, oh wait, they actually did, for the better. And then there is Bugatti, no changes like what you refer to there.
swe 5:34PM (7/18/2009)
I never referred to any past changes. All I said was I hope they don't change anything for the worse.
catchmyshadow 4:08PM (7/18/2009)
i think for us customers it won´t matter anyway. they will both go on producing what they do best. VW and Porsche have always been working together anyway. so no big deal. i mean look at Audi and Lamborghini. They are under VWs roof as well and are doing very, very well, posting record sales every year.
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warren 4:41PM (7/18/2009)
The thing is, Audi and Lamborghini don't compete with eachother, so having them under the same ownership works nicely. Porsche and Audi do have some cars that directly compete -- the S5 vs. the Cayman, Q7 vs. Cayenne, S8 vs. Panamera 4S. And that's just the road cars.... Audi and Porsche also have major presence in various motorsport competitions. R15 vs. RS Spyder, for example. Porsche and Lamborghini have some good competition going on as well.
If VW is really going to go ahead with absorbing Porsche, don't be surprised if the Cayenne and Panamera get killed within a few years. VW's only really weak area right now is the roadster space above the Audi TT, and the Porsche lineup would fill that gap nicely.
kris.read 4:53PM (7/18/2009)
S5 and Cayman are you serious? Not very similar cars.
info 5:25PM (7/18/2009)
"Audi and Lamborghini don't compete with eachother"
The R8 doesn't compete?
zamafir 10:37PM (7/19/2009)
"The R8 doesn't compete?"
With Lamborghini? No, according to Audi, Lambo, and exotic car dealers. But it could be marketing speak