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Porsche Officially Joins Volkswagen Group

Agent009 submitted on 7/23/2009 Official Bell & Ross Timestamp: 12:58:12 PM

19 user comments | Category: Misc News | Source: | SOURCE: www.bloomberg.com

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.


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Porsche Officially Joins Volkswagen Group

About the Author

Agent009

"If everything seems under control, you're just not going fast enough."

— Agent009 (View Profile)


User Comments

fatandsassy

Yeah, we can stop reading about this now......

— fatandsassy (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 1:17:41 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

sector

Might as well, they both produce the beetles right?

— sector (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 1:27:00 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

Invisible

There were huge battles going on the the German government and what ifs if Porsche gained control, and IF the government would allow the takeover.

Now what? Does the Germany government have some control over Porsche?

— Invisible (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 1:37:23 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 1   

monkeyrun

lol... welcome to the VW group.

— monkeyrun (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 2:21:56 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 4   

MSP6

Better be associated to VW than to a low-end car maker such as, let's say VAG, Geely or Toyota.

— MSP6 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 6:10:12 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

MSP6

VAZ, not VAG

— MSP6 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 6:13:29 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: -1   

mkk21

I am so confused...

As someone who's not too familiar with the Porsche family maybe some one can help me understand...

Porsche is majority owned by Piech and Porsche families. This same group or "family" owns 51% of VW. But yet VW took over Porsche.

I feel like the dog is chasing it's own tail.

— mkk21 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 3:26:10 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 8   

Timzilla

Porsche and Piech family hate each other. Like Romeo and Juliet kind of family hatred. Porsche was on the verge of owning the majority of VW when the credit market failed. They had been borrowing to buy the VW stock. Now they are too heavily debted to finish. Here we are today.

It could have been the most genius business move ever made.... had it worked.

— Timzilla (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 8:10:54 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

Audiphile

Dr. Ferdinand Porsche had two children - son Ferdinand Jr. (nicknamed "Ferry") and daughter Louise, who married Anton Piech. Do you know for certain that the Piech and Porsche branches of the family actually hate each other? If so, is it a long-running feud, or did it materialize recently due to this botched VW takeover attempt?

— Audiphile (View Profile)

Posted on 7/24/2009 12:24:13 AM | | Votes: 2   

sdcarguy

Will Audiworld, VWVortex, and Fourtitude add Porsche to their coverage?

— sdcarguy (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 8:16:34 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

aarononymous

audiworld sucks, quattroworld.com is much better

— aarononymous (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 8:34:08 PM | | Votes: 2   

DieselRules

So, its finally done. It took long enough. And for those whining that VW ownership will diminish Porsche ... well, they don't have a clue. The 2 companies have been closer than a fat girls thighs for over 50 years. If I buy a part for my A6 2.7t it comes in a bag labelled "VW Porsche Audi". And when I buy a heater-hose for my 1-ton VW Transporter truck, it comes in a bag labelled "VW Porsche Audi". Porsche designs cars and builds engines. VW builds Porsches already. Over 60% of every Porsche is out-sourced, and mostly to VW.

So, its business as usual. Except Porsche now gets more access to the engineers with the industry's largest R&D budget. Which can only make Porsche better.

— DieselRules (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 8:21:16 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 5   

TurboSpyder

"He told workers that he had come to the conclusion over the weekend that it was time for him to leave and outlined plans to donate half of his 50 million-euro severance pay to a foundation for Porsche workers."


How is the man going to survive on just 25 million Euros?!

— TurboSpyder (View Profile)

Posted on 7/23/2009 11:09:15 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

wins555

LOL!!!!!!!
But seriously, if it weren't for Wiedeking, Porsche wouldn't be where they are now. Does anyone remember the Mercedes W124 E500 of the late 1980s? The "HAMMER". Porsche contracted the assembly of this car from Daimler Benz AG to keep itself afloat. Porsche was on the verge of bankruptcy then. Fast forward to 2008, Porsche made money for the nth consecutive year under Wiedeking.

— wins555 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/24/2009 2:14:07 AM | | Votes: 3   

mini22

It's easy to blame Weideking. However the fact is he did save Porsche from going bankrupt in the early 90's. I think unfortunately he reacted like all the banking industry did in selling these mortgage default swaps. There was a general feeling that the good business would not end. Porsche took the gamble and lost. Can you imagine if the economy did not tank or did not tank for the next 5 yrs? While it is sad that Porsche is no longer an independent company perhaps it will still flourish within VW. My only concern is this. Bugatti,Bently,Lamborghini,Audi etc all use engines that are related to VW's inline 4 and 5 cylinders. The V8,V12's,and V6 engines are related. Porsche has it's own V8 and it's own flat 6's which are unique. The question is will VW allow Porsche to continue on it's own engine path or will it be forced to use VW's engine heirarchy. The flat 6 has been one area that has made Porsche unique and seals it's identity.

— mini22 (View Profile)

Posted on 7/24/2009 10:12:43 AM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

PorscheMeister

hum A Lamborghini 540 based 928 would be cool!

— PorscheMeister (View Profile)

Posted on 7/24/2009 1:37:21 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 3   

VISO

In the long run this is good for Porsche. VW is a good steward of its various companies.

— VISO (View Profile)

Posted on 7/24/2009 3:14:01 PM | reply to this comment | Votes: 2   

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