Porsche Presses for Speedy Completion of VW Merger

Porsche Automobil Holding SE reiterates that it wants to sell its remaining 50.1% stake in sports car maker Porsche AG to Volkswagen AG as soon as possible.

Martin Winterkorn, CEO of Porsche SE and VW, tells Porsche shareholders that the companies are unable to realize annual savings of more than €700 million from synergies that a full merger would allow. He predicts the deal will be completed long before 2014.

Porsche had feared that selling before that date would trigger a tax bill of as much as €1.5 billion. German newspapers reported earlier this month that state tax authorities had agreed to allow a tax-free sale of the unit.

Critics have called on lawmakers to close that loophole. Winterkorn insists that higher tax revenues created by joining the companies sooner would eventually offset the lost tax. But he reiterates that Porsche and VW are still weighing their options.

Porsche SE shareholders voted at the meeting to allow the company to amend its charter to invest the eventual proceeds of the car unit sale in auto materials, real estate and renewable energy. Porsche SE's largest asset would still be its 50.7% VW stake.