The on-going feud between the families behind Porsche and VW continues to spill into the business dealings of the two companies. Both Porsche and VW have angled for the better part of four years to be in a position to acquire a controlling interest in the other German automaker. Now Porsche appears to have a backer from the Middle-East willing to fund their next coup attempt.
The management teams of Porsche and Volkswagen will meet in the next two weeks to discuss an investment by the Qatar sovereign wealth fund, with the aim of strengthening Porsche’s bid to takeover Volkswagen. Porsche CEO Wendelin Wiedeking has been pursuing control of VW since 2005 when he first bought a stake in the larger company. That strategy began to fall apart when the global economy evaporated and Porsche, along with much of Wall Street, didn’t have the cash to finance its acquisition of VW.
The dealings between longtime rivals Porsche and VW have been acrimonious to say the least. The VW supervisory board chairman is Ferdinand Piech, the great grandson of Ferdinand Porsche. His family is also part of the controlling stakeholders in Porsche. At one time, it was believed that Piech and Wiedeking were working towards a Porsche move to acquire VW. But in recent months, Piech has been openly critical of Porsche’s moves and its excessive debt.
If he chooses, Piech, as a significant Porsche shareholder, can block the Qatar investment. Qatar is looking for voting shares in Porsche in exchange for investing billions. Up to now, the Porsche and Piech families have controlled all the voting shares.
If the Qatar investment doesn’t go through, the possibility exists that Wiedeking will be removed as CEO and that Porsche will be absorbed by VW.
