Porsche moves closer to Volkswagen takeover

Speculation that Porsche is close to launching a takeover bid for Volkswagen has been fuelled by the luxury sports marque increasing its stake in VW to 30.9%.

But a Porsche spokesman has said that the increase in share of 3.6% was to prevent a share buyout from private equity groups said to be circling Volkswagen, which would have created “a headache”.

Chrysler is currently being eyed up by private equity firms and Aston Martin has recently been acquired by a private group headed by Prodrive’s David Richards.

Porsche has steadily increased its boardroom clout since 2005 under the Chairmanship of Porsche’s Ferdinand Piech, packing the VW board with Porsche execs and leading to the departure of previous CEO Bernd Pischetsrieder.

A long-standing law that protecting Volkswagen from being taken over was recently threatened after Porsche went to the European Court to challenge it.

The ‘Volkswagen Law’ caps voting rights of shareholders to 20% regardless of the stake they may own in the company.

Porsche currently has the same voting rights as the German state of Lower Saxony but will wield more power if the Volkswagen Law is struck down.

But Lower Saxony Premier Christian Wolf has hinted that the state may increase its own stake in Volkswagen if the law on voting rights changes.

Porsche is thought to be set on acquiring an overall majority in Volkswagen, and analysts widely expect a takeover at some point in the near future.

The Volkswagen family includes SEAT, Skoda, Audi, Bugatti and Lamborghini and is thought to be riven with boardroom feuds.