Volkswagen takes 49.9% stake in Porsche

German carmaker Volkswagen has bought 49.9 percent of Porsche for 3.9 billion euros and announced ambitious targets to complete the purchase of the luxury brand by 2011 and unseat Japan's Toyota as the world's leading carmaker by 2018.

AFP - German auto maker Volkswagen announced Monday that it had acquired a 49.9-percent stake in luxury sports car-maker Porsche for 3.9 billion euros (5.8 billion dollars).
  
Last week, Volkswagen shareholders overwhelmingly approved a capital increase aimed at financing the purchase. The vote will allow Volkswagen to raise about 8.0 billion euros by 2014.
  
Europe's biggest auto maker plans to complete the takeover of Porsche by 2011 and wants to eclipse Toyota, the world auto leader, by 2018.
  
Volkswagen predicted that the acquisition of Porsche would mean an annual increase in operating earnings of around 700 million euros.
  
The acquisition, which caps months of tension between the two groups, is for both of them a return to their roots, as Porsche and VW were part of a vast automobile enterprise launched by Ferdinand Porsche in the first half of the last century.

Date created : 2009-12-07