Volkswagen has acquired the operating business of Porsche Holding Salzburg (PHS) as previously announced. The transfer of the automobile trading company took place at a value of EUR3.3bn today (1 March, 2011). The registered office and corporate headquarters will remain in Salzburg.
“The business performance of Porsche Holding Salzburg is outstanding. It is one of the world’s most efficient and profitable automobile trading companies and will therefore significantly strengthen the Volkswagen Group’s sales activities,” VW CEO Martin Winterkorn said. He added that PHS had industry-leading systems and processes and enormous experience in the retail sector which the VW group could use.
Volkswagen is acquiring all automobile operations of PHS such as the wholesale and retail business, Porsche Informatik, Porsche Bank, Porsche Immobilien and Porsche Versicherung as well as PGA Motors headquartered in Paris.
“Under the Volkswagen Group umbrella, PHS will retain its status as an independent organizational unit and continue with its business model unchanged,” VW sales head Christian Klingler said.
“All assets remain intact. That also applies to the automobile trading business relating to all non-group brands.”
PHS is claimed to be Europe’s most successful private automobile trading company and operates in Austria, western and south eastern Europe and China. In calendar 2010 unit sales of 565,000 new and used vehicles generated EUR12.78bn, with profitability “higher than the market average”. PHS employs 20,900 people.