Porsche raises stake in VW, flirts with takeover

Newswheel staff :: 27 March 2007 :: Filed under Porsche, Volkswagen

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Piech's plot?

Porsche has upped its stake in German sister firm VW to 30.9 per cent, triggering a mandatory takeover bid. Porsche’s precise intentions, however, remain unclear. Under German law, the niche sports car maker is required to bid for the whole of VW if its stake goes beyond 30 per cent. But Porsche head honcho Wendelin Wiedeking has indicated it will offer only the minimum price demanded by the regulations…

Wiedeking also suggested the move was made to protect VW from being raided and broken up by hedge funds. Porsche’s acquisition of an extra 3.6 per cent shareholding is just the latest development in a process of gradual acquisition which has pushed of V-Dub stock prices up to record highs - this year alone by fully one third.

"We do not expect many Volkswagen shareholders to offer us their shares,“ said Porsche spokesman Michael Baumann on Saturday. Which means simply that we intend to go to 31%. We do not by any means intend to take over,” quoth a spokesporsche.

Whatever, only time will tell exactly what impact Porsche’s ever-growing stake in VW will have. Will the next Bentley share its platform with the Porsche Panamera? Will the Audi R8 be killed off due to the threat it poses to the 911? Do Lamborghini and Bugatti have any future in a Porsche-controlled VW group? Moreover, what next for the megalomaniacical Ferdinand Piech, thought to be the driving force behind Porsche’s plans, and his insane plot for VW world domination…?