Porsche VW Explore Merger Under One Brand - Plans of VW Takeover Halted

It appears Porsche Automobil Holding SE is shelving its plan for a takeover of Volkswagen Group and is trying another approach at forming some sort of merger with Wolfsburg-based VW Group.

The two German automakers have formed a working group at VW headquarters in Wolfsburg to work out the details for a merger. The VW-Porsche working group is made up of representatives from both automakers, as well as from worker councils and the state of Lower Saxony, where VW Group is based, which owns a 20 percent stake in VW giving it veto power over all strategic decisions.

The working group has not released many details about the plan, but say they have come up with a blueprint that both parties have agreed to. The two automakers will form a single automotive company with 10 brands, including Porsche, which Porsche Holding currently operates on its own. VW Group consists of 9 brands which include Audi, Seat, Skoda, Scania, Lamborghini, Bentley, Bugatti, VW Commercial Vehicles and Volkswagen passenger cars.

Porsche has run up a debt of over 9 billion euros in buying up VW stock in its attempted takeover. It holds a 51 percent share of VW and had earlier planned to take that share to 75 percent but has now set that goal aside. According to Reuters' sources, Porsche will inject 5 billion euros into the new company upon its formation in 2009 or 2010. It is not clear yet whether Porsche Automobil Holding SE will still remain a separate company.