VW rejects Porsche takeover bid

Management at Volkswagen, Europe's biggest car maker, Friday said it had unanimously rejected a takeover offer from German luxury sports car maker Porsche.

VW said in a statement following a special session of its supervisory board that management was convinced that "the value of Volkswagen shares is superior to the price offered." Stuttgart-based Porsche announced in late March that it would exercise an option to buy an additional 3.6-percent stake in VW.

The additional shares raised Porsche's interest in VW to 30.9 percent, effectively obliging it under German law to launch a public takeover for all outstanding VW shares.

Under an offer to run until May 29 Porsche said it would propose 100.92 euros per ordinary share, which is well below VW's current price of around 111-112 euros.