Prosecutors in Stuttgart, Germany, ended criminal investigations into 12 supervisory board members of Porsche Automobil Holding SE suspected of helping manipulate markets in connection with a failed takeover of Volkswagen AG in 2008, the company has announced.
The board members were accused of aiding in the manipulation the price of Volkswagen AG stock in 2008 as they mulled a potential takeover of the company. The group owned 74.1% of Volkswagen’s stock.
The prosecutor ended the investigation after it was determined the board had no role in effort to manipulate VW’s stock price. Wolfgang Porsche, chairman of the Porsche SE supervisory board, added the decision could serve as a prelude to clearing away the charges against former Porsche executives, such as Wendelin Wiedeking.
“We welcome the public prosecutor’s decision and are optimistic that the allegation of market manipulation against the former members of the executive board will also prove to be without merit in the pending main hearing.”
Last year, a German court had revived criminal charges against two former Porsche SE executives involving a failed takeover of Volkswagen AG, saying prosecutors’ findings indicate it “seems quite likely” the company hid its plan. The criminal charges were later dismissed, but civil charges against Wiedeking and one of his top lieutenants, former Porsche Chief Financial Officer Holger Haerter, are still pending.
In fact, additional charges were filed today against Anton Hunger, who was Porsche’s communication’s chief at the time, alleging a role in the scheme. The automaker called the charges against Hunger “unfounded.”
Ultimately, the takeover attempt failed, putting Porsche SE at the precipice of bankruptcy. It sold its car-making business to VW in 2012 and integrated it into the VW Group. Porsche SE still holds a 51% stake in VW.
The German Court had said the company’s conduct suggested the supervisory and executive boards of Porsche may have approved the deal seven months before the company announced its intentions in 2008 and discussed it with state officials.
(Bentley aims for big growth with Bentayga. For more, Click Here.)
Porsche said that the charges were unfounded. The 2014 ruling overturned a decision by a lower court in April that said there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue the case and kept alive the long running legal disputes that followed in the wake of Porsche’s abortive bid for Volkswagen.
Contributing to the litigation are the losses incurred by hedge funds.
Porsche has always said the takeover was only cleared in October 2008 and disclosed immediately. The announcement at the time caused Volkswagen’s stock to jump as short sellers raced to buy shares to repay borrowed stock in bets that VW would fall.
A group of U.S.-based hedge funds sued Porsche for $1 billion dollars in damages, claiming the losses came on the heels of misleading statements from the Porsche board and executives.
(Click Here for details Volkswagen’s drop in 2Q income.)
The hedge funds claim that Porsche didn’t fully disclose the scope of its stake in VW. The group only disclosed its stock holdings in the company as required by German law, which doesn’t require a company to publicly declare mature stock options as shares in a company.
The tactic allowed Porsche to sit on shares it controlled without investors knowing the company held such a large stake. As a result, investors read Porsche’s statements on its intent as not having any interest in taking over VW when the extent of Porsche’s holdings were found.
Ultimately, investors – expecting VW’s stock to drop, based on Porsche’ public statements – had to cover their short positions by buying VW shares that had instead risen in value during the term of the short sellers’ contracts.
(To see more VW shooting to the top global sales spot, Click Here.)
However, the hedge funds have lost repeatedly in German courts and the announcement in Stuttgart further weakens their cases. To win, the hedge funds need to prove misconduct on the part of the Porsche officials back in 2008.
Unless there really is documented proof that stock prices were manipulated, I’m tired of stock investors using the judicial system to try and recoup their investment losses because they bet on the wrong horse.
Investors have filed suit against AMD and other U.S. companies trying to get Jackpot Justice by claiming that AMD misled investors regarding delivery of specific processors when in fact all 10Q reports require by law a disclaimer that specifically addresses crystal ball predictions for future business results. AMD unfortunately has a history of not being able to deliver products on time, often due to outsourced Fab production. If the judicial system were to rule that investors could collect for AMD delivering products late then all AMD investors since the beginning of the company some 35+ years ago could collect damages for investing in a company with a history of bringing products to market much later than they had hoped. IMO hedge funds often create their own losses and they should not be compensated for poor business decisions via the judicial system.