Porsche has denied newspaper reports that its embattled CEO, Wendelin Wiedeking, would leave the company after Volkswagen takes a 49% percent stake in the business.
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Financial Times Deutschland and Die Welt said that the Porsche and Piech families that control the sportscar maker have agreed to VW chairman Ferdinand Piech’s plan to merge Porsche into the VW group.
Wiedeking opposed the plan and business weekly WirtschaftsWoche said the CEO would leave Porsche, although the company denies this. Labour chief Uwe Huek told German television that Wiedeking would stay in office until his contract ran out in 2012 although FT Deutschland said Wiedeking had hired German lawyers to advise him on leaving Porsche.
Die Welt added that the plan for Porsche to effectively become a 10th VW brand would be formalised by the controlling families before both companies hold special board meetings in Stuttgart on 23 July.
Porsche has run up debts of more than EUR9 bn (US$12.5 bn) buying a 51% stake in VW and is currently trying to raise fresh funds for Porsche through deals with the gulf state of Qatar.
