Porsche Withdraws VW Bid

The European Commission says Porsche AG has withdrawn its bid to assume control of Volkswagen AG, Dow Jones Newswires says.

EC antitrust regulators were to rule on the bid by July 2, but a commission official reportedly says the deal has been “aborted and withdrawn.” No further information is provided.

Earlier this year, Porsche was required to file antitrust documents with the EC after acquiring 30% of VW. Under German law, once a shareholder acquires 30% of a company’s stock it is required to make an offer to acquire total control.

From the onset, Porsche has maintained it had no desire to take over VW. Rather, the company increased its share in the auto maker to shield it from a hostile takeover after the EC said a German law to protect VW was illegal.

As such, Porsche filed its obligatory takeover bid to VW shareholders, which was 14% lower than the VW’s share price. Stockholders representing only 0.02% of VW’s common shares accepted Porsche’s offering.

The so-called “VW Law,” which limits any one shareholder’s voting rights in the auto maker to 20%, regardless of its share holdings, is expected to be reviewed by a panel of judges later this year.