Porsche hit by delays to VW merger
SHARES in Porsche fell 10.7 per cent yesterday to €55 after the German car group said its merger with Volkswagen is likely to be delayed, as German prosecutors continue to investigate two of Porsche’s former board members.
Prosecutors said they had found evidence of further crimes by former Porsche chief executive Wendelin Wiedeking and former finance chief Holger Haerter, and that the investigation had been extended to suspicion of breach of trust.
“There is suspicion that the former board members took existential risks for the company by doing share price hedging deals in connection with the attempt to take over Volkswagen,” the Stuttgart prosecutors’ office said in a statement yesterday.
Volkswagen shares slipped 3.8 per cent on news of the delay.