Volkswagen and Porsche have announced a merger that will complete their 2009 Comprehensive Agreement, making Porsche officially a part of the Volkswagen Group. The merger includes the acquisition of the rest of Porsche AG’s stakes (50.1 percent) worth about €4.46 billion, that were not yet owned by Volkswagen. This move comes two years earlier than anticipated, making the collaboration between these two brands more serious than ever:

“The unique Porsche brand will now become an integral part of the Volkswagen Group. That is good for Volkswagen, good for Porsche and good for Germany as an industrial location. Combining their operating business will make Volkswagen and Porsche even stronger – both financially and strategically – going forward. We can now cooperate even more closely and jointly leverage new growth opportunities in the high-margin premium segment through targeted investments in pioneering products and technologies. This will benefit our customers, our employees and our shareholders”, said Prof. Dr. Martin Winterkorn, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen Aktiengesellschaft.

 Image: Volkswagen / Branding Magazine

“The accelerated integration will allow us to start implementing a joint strategy for Porsche’s automotive business more quickly, to realize key joint projects more rapidly, and hence to leverage additional growth opportunities in attractive market segments. It will also enable Volkswagen AG and Porsche AG to concentrate fully on their operating business by making day-to-day cooperation much simpler”, said VW CFO Hans Dieter Pötsch.

After Audi’s acquisition of Ducati a few months ago, it looks like things are slowly starting to shift in the Automotive industry and we can expect interesting campaigns, promotions and such from these brands very soon.