Piech Could Sell Porsche SE Stake by May

Former Volkswagen AG Chairman Ferdinand Piech could sell his €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion) stake in Porsche Automobil Holding SE, the company that controls VW, by the end of May, according to Bild am Sonntag.

Porsche SE confirmed on Friday that Piech is willing to sell. The Piech and Porsche families, which collectively own 52% of the holding company’s common shares, have first rights to buy the stake.

Reuters says Ferdinand Piech’s exit also might enable VW to overcome what critics describe as a dysfunctional structure, in which the company’s labor unions and the German state of Lower Saxony hold too much power. Lower Saxony holds a blocking 20% share of VW.