VW Moving To Take Over Porsche

The great gambit of this decade has failed and the prey has turned into predator. VW is moving to take over Porsche as it slowly keeps increasing its ownership interest.

This decade saw one of the most aggressive schemes every in the auto industry. Porsche looked at VW and saw a car company that was one of the biggest in the world and also happened to sell many times the cars that Porsche did. So, what did the powers that be at Porsche do? They came up with a scheme to buy VW! They started buying shares like mad and 2008 looked like it would be the year that the takeover would occur. Then the best laid plans of mice and men went down the drain.

2008, of course, was the year of financial discontent. Financial markets collapsed. Banks collapsed. Economies collapsed. Housing collapsed. More importantly for Porsche, the auto market collapsed. Suddenly, VW was in need of billions in cash and Porsche had no way to fund it despite its major ownership interest in the company. The government got involved and Porsche was forced to give up the ghost as investors flush with cash came in to replace it.

Then the predator became the prey!

Porsche's management was pushed out the door after the failed scheme. It didn't help. Porsche was hurting and investors in VW new it. The prey started getting some ideas. It already owned Lamborghini and Audi. Hey, wouldn't Porsche be a nice brand to add to its collection? The answer has been a resounding yes so far.

Volkswagen has been buying up shares of Porsche the last year or so. It recently announced it will up its ownership share to 49.99 percent. Both companies have given up any pretense of what is going to happen. By 2011, Porsche will be dead as an independent company and will become yet another brand of VW. In fact, it will be the 10th brand for the German company. Not bad for the "people's car".

How will this impact Porsche? Well, all I have to say is there are already plans for joint VW/Porsche design projects. Just what we need…Porsche Rabbits! Let us all bow our head in a moment of silence for the death of another great brand.

RIP Porsche.

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