Volkswagen finally takes control of Porsche

One of the longest-running takeover sagas in the global motor industry has finally been concluded with Volkswagen securing control of Porsche.

The deal, costing VW a total of £5.4bn, will see it acquire 50.1 per cent of the sports car maker.

Announcing the agreement, VW CEO Martin Winterkorn describes it as; “Good for Volkswagen, good for Porsche and good for Germany as an industrial location”.

The German giant already owns 49.9 per cent of Porsche. The purchase will cost £3.5bn, the remaining £1.9bn being spent on dealing with Porsche’s debts.

Moves to merge the two makers in one form or another have been going on for more than seven years and at times have been acrimonious.

In 2009 Porsche tried to engineer a takeover of VW – a remarkable move considering VW makes more cars in one day than Porsche does in a year. Porsche bought just over half of VW’s shares, in the process saddling itself with debts of £7.3bn.

In March CarandVanNews reported Winterkorn as saying a single Volkswagen-Porsche automotive group would definitely happen (story here).

According to company Chief Financial Officer Hans Dieter Pötsch the move makes strategic sense and will bring sustained benefits for both makers.

“It creates transparency as to future developments, and lays the foundations for swiftly intensifying cooperation between Volkswagen and Porsche AG,” Pötsch says.

There are no current indications as to what form such future co-operation between the two brands will take. However industry rumours are focusing on budget sports cars – according to Autocar an entry-level roadster using technology created by VW-group brand Audi, and a mid-engined VW-Porsche model, could be planned.

Words by: Andrew Charman