Volkswagen taken over by Porsche

Berlin, Jan 6: The German luxury sports car maker Porsche has taken over Volkswagen, the biggest European car maker, by purchasing more than 50 per cent of its shares. Porsche said in a brief statement that by buying new Volkswagen shares, it will thus increase its participation to 50.76 per cent of the group's capital, compared with 42 per cent before.

As a result, Porsche is now obliged by Swedish law to make an offer for outstanding shares in the heavy truck maker Scania, in which Volkswagen is the dominant shareholder. But the German sports car company will offer a minimum price for Scania shares, and has no 'strategic interest' in the company, the statement said.

Porsche had initially planned to acquire more than 50 percent of Volkswagen's stock in 20007 but was forced to delay the operation after the value of the shares soared amid frantic stock market speculation.

At one point, they traded for more than USD 1,350 per share, making Volkswagen briefly the biggest company in the world by stock market valuation. On Monday, Jan 5, Volkswagen shares closed at 254.74 euros, close to the range Porsche had set for itself of between 200-250 euros.

OneIndia News (With inputs from agencies)