Porsche board OK's Volkswagen deal
BERLIN -- Porsche AG said Monday that it has won approval from the supervisory board of its holding company to take a majority stake in Volkswagen AG, Europe's biggest car maker, but does not plan to combine the two automakers.
Porsche is currently Volkswagen's biggest shareholder with a stake of 31 percent, followed by the state of Lower Saxony, where the Wolfsburg-company is based, which holds just more than 20 percent. Speculation has swirled for months over when Porsche might move to take a majority.
But analysts have said such a move would probably be done to protect Volkswagen from a foreign takeover.
On Monday, the supervisory board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE held an extraordinary meeting and authorized Porsche managers to set in motion steps needed to gain regulatory approval for the move, Porsche said.
"The reviews by the regulatory authorities are expected to take several months," a company statement said. "As soon as the requisite clearances have been obtained, Porsche SE can acquire the majority of the shares in Volkswagen."
It added that "it is not planned to merge the two companies."
"Our aim is to create one of the strongest and most innovative automobile alliances in the world, which is able to measure up to the increased international competition," Porsche chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking said.
Speculation that Porsche would move to take a majority in Volkswagen had been rampant since late last year when the European Court of Justice ruled that Germany's so-called "VW law" had illegally shielded Volkswagen from any takeovers.
Porsche already had positioned itself as VW's biggest shareholder; and with more than 51 percent between them, it and Lower Saxony were in a position to block any would-be foreign takeover of Volkswagen.
But Porsche has been profiting from its stake in VW, and most analysts thought it would only be a matter of time before it lifted its stake.
Porsche shares were down 1.5 percent at 111.83 euros ($169.80). Volkswagen shares were up more than 0.2 percent at 150.35 euros ($222.28).
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