Porsche chairman, board member face $2.4bn lawsuitFebruary 3, 2014 - 10:43 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Porsche's chairman Wolfgang Porsche and board member Ferdinand Piech are being sued by seven hedge funds over its failed takeover bid for Volkswagen. They are seeking 1.8bn euros ($2.4bn) in compensation, according to BBC News. Porsche has been accused of misleading markets in the run-up to its takeover bid for VW in 2008. It initially dismissed speculation it was seeking to takeover VW, but later revealed it that owned or had positions on almost 74% of VW shares. Some investors had bet against Volkswagen shares, expecting them to fall in the absence on any firm takeover bid from Porsche. However, Porsche's disclosure of an increased holding triggered an unprecedented stock market squeeze on VW shares as investors rushed to buy them to cover their short positions. Porsche, which has earlier faced similar cases, has denied any wrongdoing. "Porsche SE and its supervisory board members will defend themselves with all available legal means," the carmaker said. Porsche's attempt to take over Volkswagen eventually failed as it fell short of acquiring the required 75% stake. The global financial crisis and the slump in the automotive sector made it difficult for the carmaker to raise enough money to buy the remaining stake. Nevertheless, it accumulated large amounts of debt in the process and was sued by investors who accused it of misleading them. In a dramatic turnaround of events, the firms agreed a deal in 2009 under which Volkswagen agreed to take over Porsche. Volkswagen acquired a 49.9% stake in Porsche in 2009. In 2012, the firms agreed another deal, under which Volkswagen bought the remaining 50.1% stake in Porsche for 4.46bn euros plus one VW common share. Related links: Top stories Yerevan has dismissed Turkey’s demand to shut down the Armenian nuclear power plant as “inappropriate”. Armenia will loan 2.9 billion drams to Nagorno Karabakh (Artsakh), according to a draft government decision. The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources of Azerbaijan has “strongly condemned” Armenia’s decision. Kerobyan has said that for the first time in the history of Armenia, the volume of foreign direct investments amounted to about $1 billion. Partner news | Concept to complete Yerevan Cascade discussed at city hall A conceptual proposal to complete the Cascade complex in downtown Yerevan has been presented by Jean-Michel Wilmotte. Pashinyan visits flood-hit region Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan on Saturday, June 8 visited the disaster area in the Lori province. €3.5 mln EU grant to support justice reforms in Armenia The European Union has paid €3.5 mln grant to Armenia within a €11mln program on Support to Justice Reforms. Yerevan reacts to Baku’s proposal to see Minsk Group abolition Alen Simonyan has declared that Armenia is taking steps aimed at concluding a peace treaty with Azerbaijan. |