Ferdinand Porsche with his 1903 Lohner-Porsche “hybrid” car.
Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Stuttgart has won another legal round in a fight with U.S. hedge funds over what was previously an independent Porsche’s aborted attempt to take over Volkswagen Group.
That hostile move ironically resulted in the exact opposite effect – that of Volkswagen Group swallowing the sports car maker whole when the leveraged funds of the pursuer ran into the brick wall of the Great Recession and margin calls.
The latest twist in this international soap opera occurred when the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit affirmed the previous U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York’s dismissal of the lawsuits of the eight hedge funds, in which the jurisdiction of the U.S. courts as claimed by the hedge funds was rejected.
Claims Dismissed
The plaintiffs asserted claims against Porsche SE under the U.S. securities laws and common law arising out of Porsche SE’s acquisition of and disclosures regarding Volkswagen ordinary shares in 2008.
This doesn’t end the Porsche matter though, the plaintiffs can act procedurally against this decision, though there seems little point to it.
About Ken Zino
Ken Zino, editor and publisher of AutoInformed, is a versatile auto industry participant with global experience spanning decades in print and broadcast journalism, as well as social media. He has automobile testing, marketing, public relations and communications experience. He is past president of The International Motor Press Assn, the Detroit Press Club, founding member and first President of the Automotive Press Assn. He is a member of APA, IMPA and the Midwest Automotive Press Assn.
He also brings an historical perspective while citing their contemporary relevance of the work of legendary auto writers such as Ken Purdy, Jim Dunne or Jerry Flint, or writers such as Red Smith, Mark Twain, Thomas Jefferson – all to bring perspective to a chaotic automotive universe.
Above all, decades after he first drove a car, Zino still revels in the sound of the exhaust as the throttle is blipped during a downshift and the driver’s rush that occurs when the entry, apex and exit points of a turn are smoothly and swiftly crossed. It’s the beginning of a perfect lap.
AutoInformed has an editorial philosophy that loves transportation machines of all kinds while promoting critical thinking about the future use of cars and trucks.
Zino builds AutoInformed from his background in automotive journalism starting at Hearst Publishing in New York City on Motor and MotorTech Magazines and car testing where he reviewed hundreds of vehicles in his decade-long stint as the Detroit Bureau Chief of Road & Track magazine. Zino has also worked in Europe, and Asia – now the largest automotive market in the world with China at its center.
