Ex-VW Chief Looks to Sell $1.2 Billion Stake, Creating Uncertainty -
By JACK EWINGMARCH 17, 2017
BADEN BADEN, Germany — Ferdinand Piëch, the scion of an automaking dynasty who dominated Volkswagen for two decades, is trying to sell his substantial
stake in the company to members of his extended family, which could create uncertainty in the aftermath of the carmaker’s diesel deception.
But implicit in the disclosure on Friday by Porsche Automobil Holding, the holding company for the family’s combined stake, was
that Mr. Piëch could sell his stake of about 15 percent, valued at €1.1 billion ($1.2 billion), to an outsider if he could not agree on terms with his relatives.
Mr. Piëch, a former chief executive and supervisory board chairman at Volkswagen, was often a source of discord among the quarrelsome Piëch
and Porsche clans, which own more than 50 percent of Volkswagen’s voting shares.
“The Chinese would not pass up such a chance.”
Wolfgang Porsche, a spokesman for Porsche family members, has told the German news media that the relatives would be willing to buy the stake.
Word that Mr. Piëch may sell his stake comes after a tumultuous week for Volkswagen
that showed how much the emissions scandal continues to damage the company’s reputation.
And even if they were unable to, he said in comments confirmed Friday by a spokesman for Porsche
Automobil Holding, the family would not have a problem with a new outside shareholder.