Porsche increases Volkswagen stake

Automaker Porsche said Sunday it had boosted its stake in Volkswagen AG to 42.6 percent as part of its goal to take a majority hold in Europe's biggest car maker before the end of the year. Porsche Automobile Holding SE was already Volkswagen's biggest shareholder, with just over 35 percent, and said this month that its stake had increased, without giving an exact figure.

Porsche said it wanted to announce its holding now, given the ongoing turbulence on financial markets. It also said it held an additional 31.5 percent in cash-settled options, that would give it indirect control of 74.1 percent of VW shares.

"The goal remains, as long as the financial conditions are right, to increase (the stake) to 75 percent in 2009 and clear the way for a controlling stake," the Stuttgart-based company said.

As part of that goal, Porsche said it was sticking to plans to lift its VW stake above the 50 percent mark before the year's end.