Meet The New Porsche (Or Volkswagen) Shareholder
Wendy Wiedeking can go easier on the Klonopin. If the sources of the German magazine Focus aren’t mistaken, Porsche’s CEO has found someone who can help him out of his financial predicament: His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani. The Emir of Qatar gave Wiedeking his royal word that he will shake loose several billions on Porsche’s behalf. Or rather the Sheikh’s sovereign wealth fund Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) will fork over the money. Focus says they have a handshake, but no signed paper because two options are on the table: the Sheikh buys shares of Porsche . . . or Volkswagen.
Porsche has 51 percent of Volkswagen. They also have options for another 24 percent. To exercise those options costs money. Money Porsche doesn’t have.
If His Highness steps in and buys the 24 percent, Porsche could say “good riddance” to most of their €9 billion debt and party like it’s 2008. Porsche would hold 51 percent, Lower Saxony 20 percent, the Sheikh 24 percent, the remaining five percent can be owned by you and me. The scarcity of the stock should keep the valuation high.
The Porsche and Piech families love this option. Ferdinand Piech hates it; he wants VW to gobble-up Porsche.
The second option is that the Sheikh buys into the Porsche Holding. Much trickier. This would mean a capital increase at Porsche. There would be a third—royal—family at the table. Both Porsche and Piech families are not enthused about that one.
Twenty-percent owner Lower Saxony and its premier Christian Wulff doesn’t care one way or the other—officially.
“I’ve always been for a third party investor,” he says. What he wants is a decision, “in two or three weeks” on whether Porsche and VW will merge, or whether Porsche wants to stay independent. In the latter case, “Porsche will have to solve its problems on its own. Porsche needs VW, and not the other way round,” Wulff said.
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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Your 90% inheritance tax is all well and good but you are forgetting that His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar is not subject to US tax code. Nor would anyone be with 10 million dollars. They would pick up and move somewhere "safe" like Monaco or Qatar, thus depriving the US gov from what little pickings it could manage to get over time. This would mean you and I would have to pick up the slack. No thanks.
shiney2: And that is why we should have a 90% inheritance tax for estates above 10 million dollars! Great. All rich people would emigrate to China. No inheritance (or even gift) tax here.