Porsche Automobile Holding SE (PAH3.XE) said late Wednesday 12
of 32 plaintiffs withdrew their appeal of a decision by the U.S.
District Court in New York.
The withdrawal of the appeal awaits court acceptance, and the
appeal by the remaining 20 plaintiffs remains unaffected by the
withdrawal, Porsche said.
Altogether, 46 hedge funds filed action in the U.S. against
Porsche SE and some former members of its management board, seeking
more than $2.5 billion in total damages, related to Porsche's
acquisition of Volkswagen AG (VOW.XE) shares and disclosure. In
December 2010, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
New York dismissed the actions in the first instance, resulting in
an appeal by 32 plaintiffs.
In 2005, Porsche bought Volkswagen shares and attempted to take
over the company via complex share options three years later. The
move sparked high volatility in Volkswagen shares and losses for
investors. The attempt failed, and Porsche was later sold to
Volkswagen.
The decision by 12 plaintiffs to withdraw their appeal won't
affect separate claims before the regional court of Braunschweig
filed at the end of 2011. In this action, the plaintiffs alleged
damage of around 1.8 billion euro ($2.34 billion ), Porsche
said.
"Porsche SE considers the claims alleged in the action to be
without merit," the company said in the release.
Write to the Frankfurt Bureau at
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