The global financial crisis has upended many previously secure calculations, and little Porsche’s ambitions to conquer Volkswagen, the largest European automaker, are no exception.
One person briefed on the matter said Thursday that Porsche had been considering how it could restructure the relationship between itself and VW — in which Porsche now holds just over 50 percent — with an eye to lowering Porsche’s debt burden. He declined to be identified because the issue is still unresolved.
One quick way would be for Porsche SE, the holding company, to sell Porsche AG, the carmaker, to Volkswagen.
That way, Porsche would gain cash, but the families who own all the voting shares in the holding company — the Porsches and the Piechs — would still retain control via the majority stake in VW. Ferdinand Piech is the chairman of Volkswagen, while his cousin Wolfgang Porsche heads the Porsche board.
Analysts said any transaction would likely reflect a family consensus, rather than a sudden move by Volkswagen to get a piece of Porsche.
With full control over Volkswagen, Porsche could strike a deal under German law that would let it tap a cash pile at VW that is the envy of the industry, now about €10.7 billion. Otherwise, it gets only the dividends that accrue from its current stake, a far smaller sum.
Porsche’s takeover was always premised on plans by European Union regulators to knock down a German law that grants a golden share in Volkswagen to the government of Lower Saxony, the German state where VW is headquartered. Without a change, the state’s politicians can block major decisions on VW’s board, even if Porsche acquired 75 percent of VW stock — a key threshold under German law.
Suspicions also loom large that José Manuel Barroso, the head of the European Commission, the E.U.’s executive body, is soft-pedaling the case until Germany waves through his reappointment later this year. His spokesman has denied the charge.
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