Germany – Federal Cartel Office – Porsche is allowed to acquire a stake in battery company Varta and a majority stake in the e-mobility division “V4Drive”
The Federal Cartel Office has approved the acquisition of a non-controlling stake in Varta AG by Porsche AG . The acquisition of the majority of shares in and sole control of V4Drive Battery GmbH by Porsche AG was also approved . V4Drive Battery GmbH is Varta’s business unit for large-format lithium-ion cells for electric cars. Varta AG will remain a minority shareholder there.
Andreas Mundt, President of the Federal Cartel Office, said:
Our merger control review only looked at whether the project raised competition concerns. We can rule those out.
“In principle, projects can be notified for merger control if they are sufficiently specific. The actual feasibility of the solution now depends on questions outside of antitrust law.”
As part of the project, Porsche will not acquire any control over Varta, and in particular no veto rights with regard to strategic business decisions. The Michael Tojner Group will remain involved in Varta as a further shareholder through a subsidiary.
According to the investigations in the merger control proceedings, the project does not give rise to any competition concerns. The VW Group – as the parent company of Porsche – and Varta operate in different markets. No significant competitive changes are to be expected in terms of the supply chain either, especially since Porsche has previously been Varta’s main customer for lithium-ion battery cells in the automotive sector. V4Drive, in which Porsche wants to acquire a majority stake, is also expected to address customers outside of Porsche in the future.
READ the latest Batteries News shaping the battery market
Germany – Federal Cartel Office – Porsche is allowed to acquire a stake in battery company Varta and a majority stake in the e-mobility division “V4Drive”, source
