German Court Rejects 2 Claims in Volkswagen, Porsche Merger Suit

FRANKFURT--A German court Wednesday rejected two claims over Porsche Automobil Holding SE's (PAH3.XE) ill-fated attempt to take over much-larger Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE).

One of the rejected claims was for 3.11 million euro ($4.05 million) by an investor and another by an investment company for the amount of EUR1.57 million.

The plaintiffs alleged that Porsche made a misleading press statement in March 2008 regarding its true intentions in the matter, and thereby manipulated the VW share price.

Several institutional investors in Germany and the U.S. have filed lawsuits seeking damage claims worth billions of euros in total for alleged market manipulation during the takeover attempt. Porsche's move backfired in 2009 when credit markets dried up during the financial crisis, which triggered huge swings in VW stock and led to the departure of Porsche's previous management.

In June, Porsche said it wants to complete the sale of its remaining 50.1% stake in its sports-car business to Volkswagen as quickly as possible, after legal obstacles forced the two to abandon a full-fledged merger last year. Porsche agreed to sell a 49.9% stake in its sports-car unit to Volkswagen in August 2009, and Volkswagen is expected to acquire the remainder for about EUR4.5 billion

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