Frankfurt dpa) - Luxury German sportscar group Porsche AG unveiled Wednesday a 100.92 euro (134.6 dollars) a share takeover bid for Volkswagen AG, Europe's biggest auto maker. This followed Porsche's announcement on Monday that it was paying about 1.0 billion euros to exercise its option to buy 3.7 per cent of the shares in VW, consequently raising its stake in Volkswagen to 30.9 per cent.
As a result, Porsche crossed the 30-per-cent threshold set by German corporate law for launching a mandatory takeover.
However, the 100.92-euros-a share bid falls short of the current trading price for VW shares, which analysts see as allowing Porsche to secure control of the group on its own terms and possibly to buy additional Volkswagen stock.
Porsche's announcement setting out its mandatory takeover bid sent VW shares down by 1.2 per cent to 112.18 euros in trading Wednesday.
Stuttgart-based Porsche also offered 65.45 per VW preference share, which were trading at 75.50 euros Wednesday in Frankfurt.
However, Porsche, which is the manufacturer of the iconic 911 and Carrera GT sports cars, has denied repeatedly that it planned to build up a majority stake in VW.
Nevertheless, VW shares have surged by more than 30 per cent this year on the back of speculation that Porsche, which is controlled by the family of VW chairman and former chief Ferdinard Piech, planned to make a move on VW.
Porsche sees that the drive to boost its stake in VW would help to head off possible moves by hedge funds to try to build up a holding in the Volkswagen group and then attempt to force the break-up of the company.
Volkswagen is Porsche's biggest auto supplier, underscoring the already close links between the two carmakers.
Porsche has also said the decision to raise its stake beyond 30 per cent comes in the wake of moves to dismantle the so-called Volkswagen Law, which dates back 47 years and shields the carmaker from unwelcome takeovers.
