$2.7 Billion Lawsuit Against Porsche Goes To Court

Bertel Schmitt
by Bertel Schmitt

After a court in Braunschweig, Germany, dismissed two investor lawsuits against Porsche SE, it didn’t take the third one either. Instead, it delegated a lawsuit that seeks $2.7 billion in damages to a Hanover-based court that specializes in cartel matters, Reuters says. Finally, a decision after a hedge fund’s heart.

According to the wire service, “the decision to assign the case to a specialist court may boost plaintiffs’ hopes of getting a hearing from judges more familiar with the technicalities of financial markets.”

The suit is about the big March 2008 short squeeze that happened when Porsche said it owned nearly 75 percent of VW in shares and options. The leveraged buyout was badly timed: A few months later, all credit evaporated. Volkswagen ended up taking over Porsche.

Bertel Schmitt
Bertel Schmitt

Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.

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