Porsche Sets Sights on VW

The European Commission has until July 2 to decide whether to OK a proposed takeover of Volkswagen AG by Porsche AG or rule the matter requires further investigation.

Porsche has asked the EC for permission to take control of VW in a filing made public today.

The move comes after a public offer by Porsche to buy VW stock at a reported 14% discount from its share price at the end of April was roundly rejected by VW shareholders. Porsche says its bid was accepted by stockholders of only 0.02% of VW's common shares.

Porsche's low-bid offer was designed to fail from the get-go, having been triggered by German law after the sports car maker had increased its stake in VW to more than 30%.

Porsche currently is the biggest stakeholder in VW, controlling 30.9% of the voting shares. The German state of Lower Saxony is the next biggest, having increased its stake to 20.36% following a purchase of 367,000 shares earlier this week.