Viking Global sues Porsche 23 February 2011New York Reporter: Ben Wilkie
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Viking Global Investors is suing Porsche over short selling losses the company incurred during the takeover of Volkswagen.
The New York hedge fund alleges that Porsche misrepresented it's intentions towards the rival carmaker, after it repeatedly denied claims it was interested in an acquisition.
In October 2008, Porsche said it owned a majority of Volkswagen's stock, which left funds struggling to cover their short positions. The lawsuit alleges that the share price has now fallen back to 2007 levels, which - it says - means that short sellers were correct and the market had been manipulated by Porsche.
German regulators are investigating the transactions.
"All of this is of little solace for Viking, however, which lost at least $390 million terminating and/or hedging its short positions in the two days following Porsche’s surprise announcement,” Viking Global said in the complaint.
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