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Porsche Board Cleared in VW Stock Probe
Porsche SE confirms that prosecutors in Germany won't charge its board and Chairman Wolfgang Porsche with participating in a failed bid to take control of Volkswagen AG.
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Porsche SE confirms that prosecutors in Germany won't charge its board and Chairman Wolfgang Porsche with participating in a failed bid to take control of Volkswagen AG.
The holding company's former CEO Wendelin Wiedeking and Chief Financial Officer Holger Haerter are to go on trial in October on charges they misled investors by secretly amassing control of 74% of VW, while insisting there was no takeover plan. Porsche's former spokesman, Anton Hunger, also has been charged.
When Porsche did announce the holding six years ago, VW's share price surged. Short sellers, who were betting VW's stock would decline, claim they lost at least $2 billion.
Prosecutors in Germany and the U.S. have been investigating the matter since 2009. Porsche's takeover bid failed, and the company instead sold its Porsche AG carmaking unit to VW in 2009 to reduce debt.
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