Volkswagen AG agreed to combine with Porsche SE after the departure of the sports-car maker’s Chief Executive Officer Wendelin Wiedeking capped a 4-year-long feud for control of the two German manufacturers. An integration of Volkswagen with the 911 sports-car maker will benefit both automakers in the global market, VW Chief Executive Officer Martin Winterkorn said in Stuttgart, Germany. A Qatar fund will acquire 17 percent of VW, becoming the third- largest investor in the Wolfsburg-based company.
Volkswagen and Porsche, which said on May 6 that they were in talks to merge, were at loggerheads about ways to cut Porsche’s 10 billion euros ($12.8 billion) of debt. Wiedeking agreed today to step down after 16 years as CEO. Porsche, controlled by the Piech and Porsche families, owns about 51 percent in VW, Europe’s No. 1 carmaker, while the German state of Lower Saxony is the second-largest shareholder with a 20 percent stake.
2009 Frankfurt Motor Show Sneak Preview-Eight Weeks Early!!!!!
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