FRANKFURT (Thomson Financial) - Porsche AG will consider increasing its 31 pct stake in Volkswagen AG if the 'Volkwagen law' -- which limits its voting rights in the company to 20 pct -- is ruled illegal, Porsche's chief executive Wiedelin Wiedeking said.
'If the VW law falls, we will have to have further discussions in-house,' Wiedeking said at a press conference at the IAA car show.
He said the limitation of voting rights is 'clearly discriminating'.
The statement comes ahead of a European court ruling expected this year on Germany's so-called 'Volkswagen law,' dating from 1960, which caps the voting rights of shareholders at 20 pct, even if they own a larger stake.
The European Commission believes the law violates EU legislation, and European Court of Justice Advocate General Ruiz-Jarabo Colomer has said the law restricts the free movement of capital.
Regarding cooperation with Volkswagen, Wiedeking said there are many ideas, but that any cooperation would be limited to individual projects so as not to mix different corporate cultures.
He said that cooperation is particularly beneficial in electronic parts as these make up for 30-35 pct of costs. frederik.richter@thomson.com fr1/mas/rfw COPYRIGHT Copyright AFX News Limited 2007. All rights reserved. The copying, republication or redistribution of AFX News Content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of AFX News.
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