German Financial Watchdog Looking into VW, Porsche Deal

By Christoph Rauwald

FRANKFURT--German financial services watchdog Bafin said Friday it is looking into whether Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE) met all disclosure requirements and complied with stock market rules when it announced Wednesday that it had agreed to buy the 50.1% stake in Porsche Automobil Holding SE's (PAH3.XE) sportscar business it doesn't already own.

"We're looking into whether there is evidence for disclosure rules having been breached," a spokesman for Bafin said. He said if any evidence is found Bafin would launch a formal probe into the matter as a next step. The spokesman said the preliminary examination will take about two weeks.

A spokesman for Volkswagen said the German auto maker complied with all stock market rules. "The securities trading rules are of course the basis for our communication with capital markets," the spokesman said, adding that Volkswagen is in touch with Bafin to clarify all requests.

Volkswagen and Porsche hammered out a deal late Wednesday to fully integrate Porsche's sportscar unit into VW's stable of brands for 4.46 billion euros ($5.56 billion) in cash plus one voting share. The companies reached an agreement on speeding up the deal to reap more cost synergies faster.

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