Porsche and Piech families to secure direct stake in Porsche AG

The Porsche and Piech families, who dominate as Volkswagen’s largest shareholder, are planning to reserve a direct stake in Porsche AG, should the luxury carmaker be independently listed, two people familiar with the matter said, reported Reuters.

It is believed that this move would slacken the families’ grip on Europe’s largest carmaker Volkswagen, in support of direct ownership of the iconic sports car brand that was established by their ancestor Ferdinand Porsche in 1931.

Rumours are rife about a listing of the unit in the beginning of the year involved estimates of a separate valuation of Porsche AG ranging from 45 billion to 90 billion euros ($55 billion-$110 billion), in comparison with 135 billion for the Volkswagen group.

However, adding that a prospective initial public offering (IPO) of Porsche AG is not on top of the priority list, Volkswagen continues to expect to be in a position for a listing. Even though, the main hurdle remains VW’s complex stakeholder set-up, the people told Reuters.