Porsche hit out at its rival yesterday after Volkswagen issued a June 29 deadline for the luxury car maker to agree to a merger plan.
Wolfgang Porsche, head of the luxury group’s supervisory board, called the ultimatum from Volkswagen and its key shareholder, the German state of Lower Saxony, “damaging”.
The proposed tie-up would lead to a complicated system of cross-ownership between the two groups and their main shareholders.
Porsche currently holds a 51pc stake in Volkswagen while Porsche is controlled by the Porsche and Piech families.
Volkswagen would take a 49.9pc stake in Porsche as part of a tie-up, according to what are believed to be the proposal’s terms. Telegraph.co.uk
His statement followed a report to appear in weekly Der Spiegel that VW had given the Porsche board until Monday to agree to the scheme drawn up by Volkswagen boss Martin Winterkorn, the German state of Lower Saxony, which has a stake in VW, and Porsche co-owner Ferdinand Piech.
“We will not be held to ransom, it helps no one,” Wolfgang Porsche retorted in a statement.
According to Der Spiegel, under the proposed scheme VW would take over 49.9 percent of Porsche, with the remainder staying in the hands of the Porsche holding.
Ultimately, the Porsche and Piech families would have more than 40 percent of the merged company, Lower Saxony 20 percent, the Gulf state of Qatar, which is currently in talks with Porsche, 15 percent and an unspecified other state fund five percent.
“We greatly hope that the authors of this ultimatum will support the common aim ... and put forward their propositions in internal discussions and not through newspaper headlines,” Wolfgang Porsche said.
“We are prepared for that at any time.” AFP
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