A merger made in heaven?
The New York Times relayed and interesting story on Wednesday. Much to my surprise, Porsche and VW have agreed to a merger, rather than an outright acquisition of VW’s available shares. The deal is still several weeks away from finalization due to approval from the German state of Lower Saxony, advisory boards, and additional details, (should they be called disputes?) left to be worked out between Porsche’s chairman Wolfgang Porsche, and his cousin and VW chairman Ferdinand Piëch.
Despite speculation that he was on his way out of the company due to his lack of presence in China for the new Porsche Panamera’s unveiling, CEO Wendelin Wiedeking is set to have a more dominant role with in the merged company of 10 brands. Interesting, Porsche is expected to remain largely independent, thus causing pause in understand the nature of this merger.
Porsche has acquired more than 50% of the company and had hoped to acquire 75% by the end of the year. It is unknown exactly how much is currently owned. Because of this share acquisition, Porsche now owes US$12,000,000,000, and the NYT reports that debt reduction is another topic of conversation between company leaders.