VW-Porsche deal welcomed
July 5, 2012
Volkswagen Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn told reporters on Thursday that his company's takeover of Porsche on August 1 will save the company up to 700 million euros ($877 million) annually.
"The unique Porsche brand will now become an integral part of the Volkswagen Group," Winterkorn said in Hanover. "That's good for VW, good for Porsche and good for Germany as an industrial location."
Winterkorn's statements came hours after Europe's biggest automaker wrapped up the Porsche takeover two years earlier than originally planned in order to unlock hitherto untapped economies of scale.
Stock market repercussions
The premier of Volkswagen's home state of Lower Saxony, David McAllister welcomed the quicker takeover. "VW and Porsche will in future be able to cooperate without any barriers, implement joint strategies and save money by doing so," McAllister maintained.
The company announcement saw VW shares jumping by more than 4.0 percent in early trading on Thursday, making them the biggest gainers on the blue-chip DAX-30 index at the Frankfurt stock exchange.
VW had agreed to pay Porsche's current holding company 4.46 billion euros plus one VW share for the 50.1 percent it does not already own in the sports carmaker.
hg/mz (dapd, AFP)