By Nicky Redl
FRANKFURT--Porsche Automobil Holding SE (PAH3.XE) has welcomed a
German court ruling, which rejects two claims by investors over
Porsche's ill-fated attempt to take over much-larger Volkswagen AG
(VOW.XE).
"Porsche SE welcomes the first-instance Regional Court of
Braunschweig's judgments, and considers that its legal opinion has
been vindicated," the company said in a statement.
One of the rejected claims was for 3.11 million euro ($4.05
million) by an investor and another by an investment company for
the amount of EUR1.57 million.
The plaintiffs alleged that Porsche made a misleading press
statement in March 2008 regarding its true intentions in the
matter, and thereby manipulated the VW share price.
"Porsche SE believes the damage claims filed by various
speculators to be without merit and considers the claims pending in
the USA to be legally insufficient and without merit," Porsche
said.
Several institutional investors in Germany and the U.S. have
filed lawsuits seeking damage claims worth billions of euros in
total for alleged market manipulation during the takeover attempt.
Porsche's move backfired in 2009 when credit markets dried up
during the financial crisis, which triggered huge swings in VW
stock and led to the departure of Porsche's previous
management.
Write to Nicky Redl at nicky.redl@dowjones.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires