In a bid to speed along integration with Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Volkswagen announced on Tuesday that it will purchase a 49.9 percent stake in the German sports car maker. The move will cost Volkswagen $5.8 billion.
VW was originally slated to take a 42 percent interest in Porsche, but upped that investment level to 49.9 percent due to better than expected progress on some VW-Porsche joint projects. That 42 percent stake was expected to cost VW $4.9 billion.
With the investment now in place, VW hopes to complete its merger with Porsche by the end of 2010. VW currently supplies parts for about a third of all Porsche’s vehicle offerings, according to Automotive News.
The news comes as a complete reversal for Porsche as the company was planning a 51 percent takeover of VW up until just a few months ago. Porsche failed to raise the necessary capital to complete the takeover, resulting in a 10 billion euro debt and the firing of the company’s CEO and CFO.
