Porsche says it controls VW, offers to buy Audi

For a small, independent sports car manufacturer, Porsche sure seems to be pulling the strings nowadays. Kudos to their management team.

Paul McVeigh Automotive News September 16, 2008 - 7:57 am ET UPDATED: 09/16/08 8:45 a.m. E.T.

MUNICH -- Porsche today said it holds 35.14 percent of the voting rights in Volkswagen group. Porsche said VW has now become a subsidiary of Porsche Automobil Holding under German law.

Porsche also said it is obliged to make a compulsory offer for Audi because it has raised its stake in VW, which owns Audi, from 31 percent, but Porsche said it has no interest in separating Audi from VW group.

Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking said the sports car maker intends to raise its stake in VW to more than 50 percent. "Today's step is a further milestone on the way," Wiedeking said in a statement.

Porsche will offer the legal minimum of about 487 euros per share for the approximately 370,000 Audi shares (0.86 percent of the company) that are publicly available. Based on last Monday's closing price, the shares are valued at approximately 170 million euros. VW has said it will not accept Porsche's offer for its 99.14 stake in Audi. Porsche only will buy the free-floating shares.

Wiedeking said: "We see Audi as an integral part of VW group and have no interest in taking the company out of the group."

Wiedeking said he hoped for a quick solution to the conflict between Porsche and VW's works council over worker representation on Porsche Automobil Holding's supervisory board. VW's works council says it has too few members on the board.

Interesting, think the crappy US economy, high gas prices here in the US, and slow sales have anything to do with this? VW just became one of the largest brands to compete with Toyota and GM in sales and now Porsche wants in....

Porsche has been slowly buying up the shares of VW for years. This has been a long term plan of theirs to keep VW in Germany

Let's hope they can bring VW's quality control into this century.

Hey I don't pick on the cars you are writing, leave mine out of this!

We like to call them "eccentricities" and refer to the trips to the service garage as "suggested emergency maintenance".

Yo, don't pick on mine! They are just too easy a target, like fish in a barrel.

We call ours 'junk' and refer to service trips as 'inevitable'.

Jensenman wrote: Yo, don't pick on mine! They are just too easy a target, like fish in a barrel. We call ours 'junk' and refer to service trips as 'inevitable'.

Do you write for Chrysler?

16vCorey wrote:

Jensenman wrote: Yo, don't pick on mine! They are just too easy a target, like fish in a barrel. We call ours 'junk' and refer to service trips as 'inevitable'.

Do you write for Chrysler?

I plead the 5th.

I am sure VWs board is fighting this hard , because they will be out of a job !

in fact if Porsche takes over many of the office workers could be out of a job because someone at Porsche is already doing that work

I will have to ask my friend at Wolfsburg whats happening in the ranks.....

Beaulieu

>

16vCorey wrote:

Jensenman wrote: Yo, don't pick on mine! They are just too easy a target, like fish in a barrel. We call ours 'junk' and refer to service trips as 'inevitable'.

Do you write for Chrysler?

Is there a difference?

Oh snap!

Wally gets a point

Jensenman wrote:

16vCorey wrote:

Jensenman wrote: Yo, don't pick on mine! They are just too easy a target, like fish in a barrel. We call ours 'junk' and refer to service trips as 'inevitable'.

Do you write for Chrysler?

I plead the 5th.

Well hopefully that means you won't be laid off any time soon.

VW is owned 20% by the State of Lower Saxony where it is located , and they have veto power over the board , so we will see what really gets done,

probably nothing for awhile

Beaulieu

I heard that there was some law that said that VW could not be bought out. the sorce was not every good but it sounds weid enough to be true???

I was under the impression that Porsche was an engineering firm that sold cars to show off their wares, as it were. Similar to Lotus.

Of course, the times may have changed a bit.

VW could not be bought by a Non german firm...

John Brown wrote: Hey I don't pick on the cars you are writing, leave mine out of this! We like to call them "eccentricities" and refer to the trips to the service garage as "suggested emergency maintenance".

I just serviced my Corrado this weekend... I don't leave home without my bentley manual, a multimeter, and some extra fuses.

She is still pretty with her plaid peel-n-stick letters!

Its hard for a relatively small boutique company like Porsche to remain independent of some larger entity. Look at similar companies. Ferrari has been own Fiat for years. Lamborghini is owned by Audi after many different owners. Lotus has passed through several owners including GM.

This is an interesting way to affilate with a major automaker without being owned and directed by them. I imagine if I were the Porsche family, I would be looking for ways to keep the family name, history and crest from being bought and slapped on whatever a new parent company wants. Saab badges and styling cues on GM trucks are an example of what I am talking about.