• News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
  • News
  • Guides
  • Reviews
  • Media
  • About
Sign up Now (For Free)

Sign up for our newsletter and receive the latest automotive news in your inbox!

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Thanks for subscribing!
News
Read Now
  • All News
  • Automakers
  • Automobiles
  • Auto Shows
  • Business
  • EVs & Environment
  • Guides
  • Lawsuits/Legal
  • Regulatory
  • Ride-Sharing
  • Safety & Recalls
  • Technology
Recent
  • The Rearview Mirror: A Sports Car from a Company You've Never Heard Of
  • Analysts Predict Declining Tesla Sales in Q3
  • Overlanding is the New Hotness
  • New Vehicle Sales Increase in September
  • Are EVs Affordable? Only if You’re a Luxury Buyer
  • Honda Takes Wraps Off New All-Electric Prologue
  • Mercedes to Offer True Self-Driving in Late 2023
  • Biden Meets UAW Picketers, Offers Support
  • Ford Halts $3.5B MI Battery Plant; Fain Slams Company
  • An Electric Acura NSX Could Be Coming
Editor’s Choice
    Reviews
    Read Now
    • All Reviews
      • Feeder
    • Classic Cars
    • Concept Cars
    • Convertibles
    • Coupes
    • Crossovers/CUVs
    • Diesel
    • Hot hatches
    • Hybrids
    • Luxury Vehicles
    • Minivans
    • Muscle Cars
    • Pickups
    • Sedans
    • Sports Cars
    • Super Cars
    • SUVs
    Recent Reviews
    • A Week With: 2024 Buick Encore GX Sport Touring AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Mercedes-Benz EQB 250+
    • A Week With: 2024 Mazda CX-90 Turbo S Premium Plus
    • A Week With: 2024 Mercedes-AMG EQE SUV
    • A Week With: The 2024 BMW i7 xDrive60
    • A Week With: 2024 Alfa Romeo Tonale Veloce AWD
    • A Week With: 2023 Toyota Camry XSE Hybrid
    • A Week With: 2024 Subaru Impreza RS
    • A Week With: 2023 Chevrolet Colorado ZR2 Desert Boss
    • First Drive: 2024 Polestar 2
    Editor’s Choice
      Guides
      Car Warranty
      • Endurance Warranty Reviews
      • BMW Extended Warranty
      • Extended Warranty For Cars Over 100k Miles
      • Extended Car Warranty Cost
      • Subaru Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Reviews
      • CarShield Cost
      • Aftermarket Car Warranty
      • CARCHEX Warranty Reviews
      • Reputable Extended Car Warranty Companies
      • Used Car Warranty Companies
      • Best Car Warranty
      • Is CarShield A Scam?
      • Mercedes Extended Warranty
      • CarShield Plans
      Insurance
      • How To Identify A Car Insurance Company
      • Geico Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • How Far Back Does A Car Insurance Company Look
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance For Used Cars
      • State Farm Mechanical Breakdown Insurance
      • Mechanical Breakdown Insurance From Progressive
      • Dollar A Day Insurance
      • Auto Insurance For SSI Recipients
      • Car Insurance Rates After A Suspended License
      • Auto Insurance For Salvage Vehicles
      • Average Cost of Dodge Ram 1500 Car Insurance
      • Car Insurance Florida
      • Full Coverage Auto Insurance
      • GrubHub Insurance
      • Amazon Delivery Auto Insurance
      Shipping
      • Car Shipping Companies
      • uShip Reviews
      • Auto Shipping From California To Hawaii
      • Montway Auto Transport Reviews
      • Cheap Car Shipping
      • Easy Auto Ship Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Miami
      • Auto Shipping To Alaska
      • Car Shipping Cost
      • Auto Shipping Hawaii
      • Auto Shipping Puerto Rico
      • Sherpa Auto Transport Reviews
      • Auto Shipping Atlanta
      • Auto Shipping Boston
      • Auto Shipping. Chicago
      About
      • About Us
      • Contact Us
      • Terms of Use
      • Privacy Policy
      • Affiliate Disclosure
      • Sitemap
      TheDetroitBureau.com

      More than just “another” place to find news, reviews, spy shots, commentary, features, and guides about the auto industry. TheDetroitBureau doesn’t stop with the press releases or confuse a few lines of opinion with insightful, in-depth reporting.

      Contact Us

      Like what you see? Have some ideas for making The Detroit Bureau.com even better? Let us know, we’d love to hear your voice.

        Media
        Listen Now
        • Headlight News: All Episodes
        More from TheDetroitBureau
        • Guides
        • Latest News
        • Auto Reviews
        • Podcasts
        Headlight News

        TheDetroitBureau.com’s Headlight News offers a look at the past week’s top automotive news stories, as well as what’s coming up in the week ahead. Check out the week’s top story and our latest review…along with a dive into the past with this week in automotive history.

        home > news > Automobiles > Former Porsche Execs Acquitted of Stock Manipulation

        Former Porsche Execs Acquitted of Stock Manipulation

        Pair led attempt to takeover Volkswagen in 2008.

        Joseph Szczesny
        Joseph Szczesny , Executive Editor
        March 21, 2016
        Former Porsche CEO Wendekin Wiedeking was one of two former execs acquitted by a German court.

        A regional court Germany acquitted two former executives of Porsche AG on charges of stock manipulation during a failed 2008 attempt to take over the much larger Volkswagen.

        A regional judge in Porsche’s hometown of Stuttgart, dismissed the stock manipulation charges leveled by prosecutors against Porsche’s Chief Executive Officer Wendelin Wiedeking, who in 2008 was considered a rising star in the global auto industry, and Porsche’s chief financial officer Holger Härter, who was one of the principal architects of the abortive bid for Volkswagen.

        The Leader in Global Automotive News!

        The takeover attempt collapsed amid a swirl of lawsuits and led to the ouster of Wiedeking and Härter.

        Wiedeking and Härter were indicted on stock manipulation charges by the regional court in Stuttgart. The charges of market manipulation in connection with an attempted takeover of Volkswagen in 2008, ending what had become an embarrassing chapter in the history of both Porsche and Volkswagen.

        A lawsuit filed by a group of New York hedge funds that claimed they lost more than $2 billion on speculations based on Porsche’s takeover attempt also has been dismissed. Ultimately, Volkswagen, in a display of power by the ruling Piech family, took over Porsche and made it part of the Volkswagen Group.

        (German prosecutors target 17 in VW diesel scandal. For more, Click Here.)

        Echoes of the original stock manipulation scandal continue to reverberate in the new scandal involving Volkswagen’s cheating on the emission tests in the U.S. Porsche, right along with Volkswagen and Audi, has been barred from selling vehicles equipped with diesel engines the U.S. for the foreseeable future and also faces punitive fines.

        Prior to Friday’s verdict, prosecutors in the case urged the court to sentence both Wiedeking and Härter to more than two years in prison for manipulating the market and misleading the public involving the foiled takeover.

        The prosecution also accused Porsche managers of intentionally concealing their plans to raise the company’s stake in VW from investors and regulators.

        (Click Here to see how Porsche looked to the past for the new 718.)

        On Oct. 26, 2008, carmaker Porsche announced that it owned 42.6% of VW’s common stock and had acquired options for another 31.5% that would bring its total stake in the company to 74.1%. The company said it was seeking to obtain 75% of VW shares. The announcement resulted in a frenzy of share trading activity.

        The shock announcement drove VW’s stock price up from 290 euros to 1,005 euros per share almost overnight, making it the world’s most valuable company for a short period of time. The takeover effort collapse a few weeks later.

        The indictment of Wiedeking and Härter followed a three-year investigation that concluded Porsche misled investors prior to the attempted takeover.

        (To see more about the 911 R paying homage to its racing heritage, Click Here.)

        The prosecutors built the case around repeated public comments by Porsche that the sports car maker was not intending to acquire the bigger maker. At the same time Porsche’s the prosecution presented evidence the defendants had begun increasing their stake in VW back in 2008, misleading other investors about their true intentions.

        How to Care for Your Car

        Cheap Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice

        Best Extended Car Warranty

        Editor's Choice
        Recently Published

        The Rearview Mirror: A Sports Car from a Company You’ve Never Heard Of

        Yesterday

        Analysts Predict Declining Tesla Sales in Q3

        Sept. 29, 2023

        Overlanding is the New Hotness

        Sept. 29, 2023

        Leave a Reply Cancel reply

        Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

        Share this article:
        © The Detroit Bureau 2023
        • Guides
        • Privacy Policy
        • Terms of Use
        • Affiliate Disclosure
        • Contact Us
        • Sitemap
        Follow Us: