Investors sue Porsche over failed merger

A group of investment funds is suing Porsche for two billion euros in damages after the German luxury sports car firm's merger with the Volkswagen group failed in 2008, the fund's lawyers said Saturday. The two billion euros ($2.6 billion) covers fund losses after Porsche stunned markets with its announcement in October 2008 that it was acquiring 75 percent of Volkswagen, leading to a massive surge in the value of VW shares, lawyers said in a statement. VW shares briefly shot above 1,000 euros, but at the time Porsche stressed it was not responsible for the panic buying, reportedly by investment funds, that had seen VW stock hit the roof after Porsche unveiled its position. Porsche's bid to take over VW ultimately failed and the endebted luxury car maker was in turn saved by Volkswagen. In their lawsuit, the investment funds argue that Porsche manipulated the stock market as its announcement that it was taking over Volkswagen and the reasons for its move had come late. US investment funds have already filed another complaint against Porsche, which says their action is "unfounded". Plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in the New York State Supreme Court in March claim that actions by Porsche caused them to lose more than one billion euros. A group of 39 investment funds filed a suit against Porsche in 2010 which said the German carmaker lied about its plans to take over the biggest European carmaker.