Porsche seeks majority stake in Volkswagen

It has been reported by a German magazine that Porsche, the German sports car maker, is intending to increase its stake in Volkswagen, the German car maker, to 51%. However, a spokesperson for Porsche commented that no decision by the company’s board has been made about increasing the stake above the current 31%.

Quoting unidentified stock market sources, the magazine said that Porsche was buying options enabling it to increase its Volkswagen stake by exercising them. The magazine added that traders are anticipating Porsche to exceed the 50% limit at the start of 2008.

The spokesperson for Porsche referred to a previous announcement by Holger Haerter, the company’s Chief Financial Officer, that Porsche has acquired some options in order to be able to increase its Volkswagen stake further if required.

Shares in Volkswagen rose more than 14 percent in August, surpassing a European car sector index, which declined nearly 3%, partially driven by market rumours that Porsche may combine its control by buying the state of Lower Saxony’s 20% Volkswagen stake. However, Lower Saxony and Porsche are currently denying these plans.

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