How the Porsche Board Controlled the Volkswagen Takeover

Boardroom Conversations with Fexingo: CEOs, Strategy, and Corporate Leadership Explained · Jun 30, 2026 · 7m · transcript

In 2008, Porsche, a company a tenth the size of Volkswagen, attempted a hostile takeover of its much larger rival. This episode drills into the boardroom decisions behind that audacious move: how Porsche's board approved a derivatives-based strategy to quietly acquire VW shares, the near-collapse when the 2008 financial crisis hit, and the stunning moment in October 2008 when VW briefly became the world's most valuable company due to a short squeeze. We explore the governance lessons: the risk of concentrated family control, the limits of leverage, and how a board's appetite…