Bye Independent Porsche: VW Buying
Let the Porsche saga be a lesson to all independent companies getting a bit cocky about their abilities. Porsche had been plotting to take over Volkswagen in a bid to "guarantee access to future platforms" and economies of scale.
Let the Porsche saga be a lesson to all independent companies getting a bit cocky about their abilities. Porsche had been plotting to take over Volkswagen in a bid to "guarantee access to future platforms" and economies of scale. Porsche slowly ratcheted up their share in the company until they crossed the 50% barrier.
No one seemed to think about the mountain of debt Porsche was piling up to do so. Then the economy started to falter and the rest is history. Porsche, one of the industry's most profitable companies, found itself in a cash crunch. Porsche is being swallowed up. Perhaps most strikingly, it has nothing to do with failing in Porsche's core business.
Bad business decision? Most definitely - I had strong reservations about it at the beginning. But if any company was able to take on something this ambitious, it would've had to have been Porsche right? Well, no looking back now. Reports are in that negotiations have been completed for VW to buy a 42 percent stake in Porsche that will pave the way for a "merger."
Yes, that's merger in quotations. Merger as in the Mercedes-Benz/Chrysler tie up, merger as in the Fiat/Chrysler deal. Automotive News says to expect "full integration" by 2011. Porsche will become a brand in the VW (possibly now called Auto Union) empire. Goodbye independent Porsche! It didn't have to be this way.
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