Porsche CEO out - paves way for VW merger
07-23-2009, 07:38 AM
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Porsche CEO out - paves way for VW merger
FYI from CNN:
++++++++++++
(CNN) -- Porsche announced Thursday that its longtime chief executive is stepping down, a move that may pave the way for a takeover by Volkswagen.
Wendelin Wiedeking has been in the driver's seat at Porsche for 17 years. Also stepping down is Holger Haerter, Porsche's chief financial officer.
Michael Macht, who has been Porsche's head of production, will become the company's new chief executive, Porsche said.
"In the last weeks, Wiedeking and Haerter have come to the conclusion that the further strategic development of Porsche SE ... is better off if they are not on board," a Porsche statement said. "They both see that step as a significant contribution to the appeasement of the situation and to support the forming of an integrated car manufacturing company."
Wiedeking had long opposed a takeover by Volkswagen.
The announcement follows a surprise supervisory board meeting at Porsche late Wednesday.
The board decided to pursue a capital increase of 5 billion euros (about $7 billion) and to enter negotiations with Qatar Holdings, with the goal of getting the emirate to take a stake in the sports car maker.
Porsche said both measures are aimed at creating an "integrated" company with Volkswagen. Hear how German auto sector faces shake up »
The meeting had originally been scheduled to take place Thursday afternoon in Stuttgart, where Volkswagen will also be holding a board meeting to deal with a possible merger.
Porsche tried to take over its fellow German automaker earlier this year, building a 51 percent stake in the company, with ambitions to raise the stake to 75 percent. But the move failed and Porsche was left with $12 billion in debt as the world automotive market began to shrink amid the financial crisis.
Volkswagen then began an effort to take over Porsche instead. The move could mean that Porsche will be integrated into Volkswagen as its 10th auto brand.
++++++++++
++++++++++++
(CNN) -- Porsche announced Thursday that its longtime chief executive is stepping down, a move that may pave the way for a takeover by Volkswagen.
Wendelin Wiedeking has been in the driver's seat at Porsche for 17 years. Also stepping down is Holger Haerter, Porsche's chief financial officer.
Michael Macht, who has been Porsche's head of production, will become the company's new chief executive, Porsche said.
"In the last weeks, Wiedeking and Haerter have come to the conclusion that the further strategic development of Porsche SE ... is better off if they are not on board," a Porsche statement said. "They both see that step as a significant contribution to the appeasement of the situation and to support the forming of an integrated car manufacturing company."
Wiedeking had long opposed a takeover by Volkswagen.
The announcement follows a surprise supervisory board meeting at Porsche late Wednesday.
The board decided to pursue a capital increase of 5 billion euros (about $7 billion) and to enter negotiations with Qatar Holdings, with the goal of getting the emirate to take a stake in the sports car maker.
Porsche said both measures are aimed at creating an "integrated" company with Volkswagen. Hear how German auto sector faces shake up »
The meeting had originally been scheduled to take place Thursday afternoon in Stuttgart, where Volkswagen will also be holding a board meeting to deal with a possible merger.
Porsche tried to take over its fellow German automaker earlier this year, building a 51 percent stake in the company, with ambitions to raise the stake to 75 percent. But the move failed and Porsche was left with $12 billion in debt as the world automotive market began to shrink amid the financial crisis.
Volkswagen then began an effort to take over Porsche instead. The move could mean that Porsche will be integrated into Volkswagen as its 10th auto brand.
++++++++++
07-23-2009, 07:45 AM
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It is all like one of those weekly soap opera's
Two family dynasties fighting.....
Marton
Two family dynasties fighting.....
Marton
FYI from CNN:
++++++++++++
(CNN) -- Porsche announced Thursday that its longtime chief executive is stepping down, a move that may pave the way for a takeover by Volkswagen.
Wendelin Wiedeking has been in the driver's seat at Porsche for 17 years. Also stepping down is Holger Haerter, Porsche's chief financial officer.
Michael Macht, who has been Porsche's head of production, will become the company's new chief executive, Porsche said.
"In the last weeks, Wiedeking and Haerter have come to the conclusion that the further strategic development of Porsche SE ... is better off if they are not on board," a Porsche statement said. "They both see that step as a significant contribution to the appeasement of the situation and to support the forming of an integrated car manufacturing company."
Wiedeking had long opposed a takeover by Volkswagen.
The announcement follows a surprise supervisory board meeting at Porsche late Wednesday.
The board decided to pursue a capital increase of 5 billion euros (about $7 billion) and to enter negotiations with Qatar Holdings, with the goal of getting the emirate to take a stake in the sports car maker.
Porsche said both measures are aimed at creating an "integrated" company with Volkswagen. Hear how German auto sector faces shake up »
The meeting had originally been scheduled to take place Thursday afternoon in Stuttgart, where Volkswagen will also be holding a board meeting to deal with a possible merger.
Porsche tried to take over its fellow German automaker earlier this year, building a 51 percent stake in the company, with ambitions to raise the stake to 75 percent. But the move failed and Porsche was left with $12 billion in debt as the world automotive market began to shrink amid the financial crisis.
Volkswagen then began an effort to take over Porsche instead. The move could mean that Porsche will be integrated into Volkswagen as its 10th auto brand.
++++++++++
++++++++++++
(CNN) -- Porsche announced Thursday that its longtime chief executive is stepping down, a move that may pave the way for a takeover by Volkswagen.
Wendelin Wiedeking has been in the driver's seat at Porsche for 17 years. Also stepping down is Holger Haerter, Porsche's chief financial officer.
Michael Macht, who has been Porsche's head of production, will become the company's new chief executive, Porsche said.
"In the last weeks, Wiedeking and Haerter have come to the conclusion that the further strategic development of Porsche SE ... is better off if they are not on board," a Porsche statement said. "They both see that step as a significant contribution to the appeasement of the situation and to support the forming of an integrated car manufacturing company."
Wiedeking had long opposed a takeover by Volkswagen.
The announcement follows a surprise supervisory board meeting at Porsche late Wednesday.
The board decided to pursue a capital increase of 5 billion euros (about $7 billion) and to enter negotiations with Qatar Holdings, with the goal of getting the emirate to take a stake in the sports car maker.
Porsche said both measures are aimed at creating an "integrated" company with Volkswagen. Hear how German auto sector faces shake up »
The meeting had originally been scheduled to take place Thursday afternoon in Stuttgart, where Volkswagen will also be holding a board meeting to deal with a possible merger.
Porsche tried to take over its fellow German automaker earlier this year, building a 51 percent stake in the company, with ambitions to raise the stake to 75 percent. But the move failed and Porsche was left with $12 billion in debt as the world automotive market began to shrink amid the financial crisis.
Volkswagen then began an effort to take over Porsche instead. The move could mean that Porsche will be integrated into Volkswagen as its 10th auto brand.
++++++++++
07-23-2009, 09:17 AM
#3
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I must say that the VW takeover move was audaciouisly stupid, but I don't like how this all is turning out.
Porsche as a company made some moves and crashed and cannot go back. I hope they don't end up the pontiac of VW.
Porsche as a company made some moves and crashed and cannot go back. I hope they don't end up the pontiac of VW.
07-23-2009, 10:06 AM
#4
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Today:
Porsche boss quits; VW merger on Porsche's chief executive officer Wendelin Wiedeking has stepped down from his role, paving the way for a merger between Porsche and Volkswagen.
Wiedeking, 56, and Porsche's chief financial officer Holger Haerter will leave with immediate effect, Porsche said in a statement.
Wiedeking, who has worked at Porsche for 16 years, is viewed by many as the man who led the company into its disasterous attempts to buy VW.
Borrowing heavily to accumulate VW shares, Porsche fell into a reported 10 billion Euros (£8 billion)of debt and was brought to the brink of financial ruin by the repayments.
Wiedeking is reported to be taking a severance package worth around £80 million to leave. While at the company his salary was based on 0.9 per cent of Porsche's pre-tax profit, meaning he earned around £65 million last year.
Wiedeking is credited with taking Porsche from being almost bankrupt when he took over as CEO in 1993 and transforming it into the car maker with the highest profit margins in the world.
Wiedeking’s departure was announced after a meeting of Porsche’s supervisory board.
Volkswagen’s own supervisory board is scheduled to meet at noon today and it's expected to confirm that it will take control of Porsche.
Winterkorn 'to lead VW/Porsche'
VW CEO Martin Winterkorn is set to lead the combined VW/Porsche group.
The two companies are set to merge after Porsche ran up heavy debts buying a 51 per cent stake in VW, and then failed to raise th necessary finance to complete its aim of taking a 75 per cent stake.
Now Porsche is fighting to maintain an influence in the proposed union with VW, with Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech making it clear he wants Winterkorn to run the merged company rather than Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking.
Piech also played down the chances of Porsche finance chief Holger Haerter taking a top job in the new group, saying his counterpart at VW, Hans Dieter Poetsch, was more credible.
He also said that the headquarters of the new group would be in VW's home of Wolfsburg.
However, before any merger goes ahead Piech said that Porsche would need first to get its 9 billion euro ($12.3 billion) of debts under control.
"I cannot imagine that VW would assume another company's risks," said Piech, who is also a shareholder in Porsche.
He also ruled out selling a stake in Porsche to an outside investor.
The merger deal is expected to be concluded within four weeks.
and from a few days back:
VW to buy Porsche for 8 billion euros - tables turned
For over three years, German manufacturer Porsche SE had worked diligently to complete a takeover of Volkswagen. After a series of missteps, the tables have turned. The predator appears to be close to an agreement that would allow its former prey to instead buy Porsche AG -the sports car division- for about €8 billion ($11.28 billion), according to German newspaper Der Spiegel.
An upcoming July 23 meeting of the Porsche supervisory board could finalize a deal that would give Volkswagen 49.9 per-cent of Porsche AG up front, with the rest available for acquisition in the future. Porsche would become the 10th car brand owned by the Volkswagen Group. Other brands include Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Seat, Scania. Skoda, VW, and VW Commercial Vehicles.
By selling Porsche AG, the sports car's parent company would be able to pay off a considerable portion of its alleged €10 billion debt. Much of that debt was created in Porsche's failed takeover bid of VW, a deal that was largely backed by bank financing that dried up in the wake of the global economic crisis.
The crisis at Porsche will likely lead to a shake-up at the top of the firm. Company CEO Wendelin Wiedeking is reportedly constructing a €100 million golden parachute so he can bail out of the firm. Production head Michael Macht would replace him at the top of Porsche AG, according to Der Spiegel.
The tale is another chapter in the history of two rival factions of a prominent German family. VW Beetle creator Ferdinand Porsche, who created Volkswagen, was the grandfather of both Ferdinand Piech and Wolfgang Porsche. Piech is the chairman of VW and part-owner of Porsche, while his cousin, Wolfgang Porsche, is the chairman of Porsche SE and a member of the VW supervisory board. The two are considered to be bitter rivals.
Piech looks to have gotten the ultimate win over his competitor, but we will not know for sure until the end of that July 23 meeting.
Porsche boss quits; VW merger on Porsche's chief executive officer Wendelin Wiedeking has stepped down from his role, paving the way for a merger between Porsche and Volkswagen.
Wiedeking, 56, and Porsche's chief financial officer Holger Haerter will leave with immediate effect, Porsche said in a statement.
Wiedeking, who has worked at Porsche for 16 years, is viewed by many as the man who led the company into its disasterous attempts to buy VW.
Borrowing heavily to accumulate VW shares, Porsche fell into a reported 10 billion Euros (£8 billion)of debt and was brought to the brink of financial ruin by the repayments.
Wiedeking is reported to be taking a severance package worth around £80 million to leave. While at the company his salary was based on 0.9 per cent of Porsche's pre-tax profit, meaning he earned around £65 million last year.
Wiedeking is credited with taking Porsche from being almost bankrupt when he took over as CEO in 1993 and transforming it into the car maker with the highest profit margins in the world.
Wiedeking’s departure was announced after a meeting of Porsche’s supervisory board.
Volkswagen’s own supervisory board is scheduled to meet at noon today and it's expected to confirm that it will take control of Porsche.
Winterkorn 'to lead VW/Porsche'
VW CEO Martin Winterkorn is set to lead the combined VW/Porsche group.
The two companies are set to merge after Porsche ran up heavy debts buying a 51 per cent stake in VW, and then failed to raise th necessary finance to complete its aim of taking a 75 per cent stake.
Now Porsche is fighting to maintain an influence in the proposed union with VW, with Volkswagen chairman Ferdinand Piech making it clear he wants Winterkorn to run the merged company rather than Porsche boss Wendelin Wiedeking.
Piech also played down the chances of Porsche finance chief Holger Haerter taking a top job in the new group, saying his counterpart at VW, Hans Dieter Poetsch, was more credible.
He also said that the headquarters of the new group would be in VW's home of Wolfsburg.
However, before any merger goes ahead Piech said that Porsche would need first to get its 9 billion euro ($12.3 billion) of debts under control.
"I cannot imagine that VW would assume another company's risks," said Piech, who is also a shareholder in Porsche.
He also ruled out selling a stake in Porsche to an outside investor.
The merger deal is expected to be concluded within four weeks.
and from a few days back:
VW to buy Porsche for 8 billion euros - tables turned
For over three years, German manufacturer Porsche SE had worked diligently to complete a takeover of Volkswagen. After a series of missteps, the tables have turned. The predator appears to be close to an agreement that would allow its former prey to instead buy Porsche AG -the sports car division- for about €8 billion ($11.28 billion), according to German newspaper Der Spiegel.
An upcoming July 23 meeting of the Porsche supervisory board could finalize a deal that would give Volkswagen 49.9 per-cent of Porsche AG up front, with the rest available for acquisition in the future. Porsche would become the 10th car brand owned by the Volkswagen Group. Other brands include Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Seat, Scania. Skoda, VW, and VW Commercial Vehicles.
By selling Porsche AG, the sports car's parent company would be able to pay off a considerable portion of its alleged €10 billion debt. Much of that debt was created in Porsche's failed takeover bid of VW, a deal that was largely backed by bank financing that dried up in the wake of the global economic crisis.
The crisis at Porsche will likely lead to a shake-up at the top of the firm. Company CEO Wendelin Wiedeking is reportedly constructing a €100 million golden parachute so he can bail out of the firm. Production head Michael Macht would replace him at the top of Porsche AG, according to Der Spiegel.
The tale is another chapter in the history of two rival factions of a prominent German family. VW Beetle creator Ferdinand Porsche, who created Volkswagen, was the grandfather of both Ferdinand Piech and Wolfgang Porsche. Piech is the chairman of VW and part-owner of Porsche, while his cousin, Wolfgang Porsche, is the chairman of Porsche SE and a member of the VW supervisory board. The two are considered to be bitter rivals.
Piech looks to have gotten the ultimate win over his competitor, but we will not know for sure until the end of that July 23 meeting.
07-23-2009, 10:23 AM
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07-23-2009, 01:01 PM
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Wow ... had to happen, Porsche needed a way to average it's cars with VW's to meet the coming regs. Buying VW was a pretty ballsy way to fix the problem, too bad the world economic cycle caught them up to their eyeballs in debt.
Hard to say what the product implications will be. I've read some speculation that the Porsche range will expand to include some kind of jointly-produced 'entry-level' volume model. Obviously will not be built in Stuttgardt or any other Porsche factory, and will probably come with a warmed-over VW drivetrain, brakes, etc. If they can put something in Porsche showrooms at $35K they'll sell a ton of them, and the Boxster/Cayman will be free to keep creeping up in price.
I think it's kind of sad, all the other independent car companies have been through this and now Porsche. Before long, we'll be talking about how ours were the "real Porsches" built in Stuttgardt ...
Hard to say what the product implications will be. I've read some speculation that the Porsche range will expand to include some kind of jointly-produced 'entry-level' volume model. Obviously will not be built in Stuttgardt or any other Porsche factory, and will probably come with a warmed-over VW drivetrain, brakes, etc. If they can put something in Porsche showrooms at $35K they'll sell a ton of them, and the Boxster/Cayman will be free to keep creeping up in price.
I think it's kind of sad, all the other independent car companies have been through this and now Porsche. Before long, we'll be talking about how ours were the "real Porsches" built in Stuttgardt ...
07-23-2009, 01:26 PM
#7
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More likely VW will use the Boxster platform to finally make it to market with it's own two seater convertible the Concept R more recently called Concept BlueSport.
If you want to keep a company independent, keep your books cash and carry, no debt.
If you want to keep a company independent, keep your books cash and carry, no debt.
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07-23-2009, 01:29 PM
#8
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Hard to say what the product implications will be. I've read some speculation that the Porsche range will expand to include some kind of jointly-produced 'entry-level' volume model. Obviously will not be built in Stuttgardt or any other Porsche factory, and will probably come with a warmed-over VW drivetrain, brakes, etc. If they can put something in Porsche showrooms at $35K they'll sell a ton of them, and the Boxster/Cayman will be free to keep creeping up in price.
I think it's kind of sad, all the other independent car companies have been through this and now Porsche. Before long, we'll be talking about how ours were the "real Porsches" built in Stuttgardt ...
I think it's kind of sad, all the other independent car companies have been through this and now Porsche. Before long, we'll be talking about how ours were the "real Porsches" built in Stuttgardt ...
07-23-2009, 01:39 PM
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Ah considering .."Wiedeking is reported to be taking a severance package worth around £80 million to leave. While at the company his salary was based on 0.9 per cent of Porsche's pre-tax profit, meaning he earned around £65 million last year...." Anyone really think he gives a **** ? They based the executive compensation on SHORT TERM PROFIT......and that is what they got !
07-23-2009, 01:42 PM
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Remember the 917? Look up the name "Ferdinand Piech".......
Piech may finally be back at Porsche where he belongs. Under Audi he was the driving force behind Quattro and their Trans-Am and World Rally championships. Fast forward to the most domnating automobile in LeMans history - the Audi R10.
Even in the smaller classes Audi had fun winning multiple championships with the S4/S6 cars.
Meanwhile Porsche lost LeMans to Panoz in a GT class.......talk about embarrassing.
I find it very sad Porsche owenrs crying foul about Porsche going back under VW's wing. God forbid people associate Porsche with Volkswagen.
07-23-2009, 02:10 PM
#11
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Hold off man, those joint ventures were nothing like what's likely to happen now. I've read the history.
There are a good number of people that floated back and forth, but from a company standpoint the picture is different.
I would love to see Piech push Porsche to be the top (I.e. Ferrari of FIAT) rather than the pontiac, but I have a feeling that the short term is going to be somewhat punitive to the brand. We'll have to see how it all shakes out.
There are a good number of people that floated back and forth, but from a company standpoint the picture is different.
I would love to see Piech push Porsche to be the top (I.e. Ferrari of FIAT) rather than the pontiac, but I have a feeling that the short term is going to be somewhat punitive to the brand. We'll have to see how it all shakes out.
07-23-2009, 02:25 PM
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07-23-2009, 02:32 PM
#14
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The best is the ever present employee koolaid at all the larger companies "we're one big family, lets all pull together to build this great company, lets do what we have to do to all be successful together..."
What a crock. "We're all in this together" until their quarterly bonus is at risk. Then they'll kick you out the door at the drop of a hat.
And I've got no problem with big players making big money, I just can't stand the hypocracy of "we're all a big family..."
Uh, no we're not.
07-23-2009, 03:24 PM
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I still remember the photo of the Chrysler Board of Directors celebrating with Champaign the "merger" with Daimler........ That was good for the shareholders ! the workers , Daimler , the tax payers ...You and Me !