The shares rose 147 per cent after Porsche unexpectedly disclosed that through the use of derivatives it had increased its stake in VW from 35 to 74.1 per cent, sparking outcry among investors, analysts and corporate governance experts.
Max Warburton, analyst at Sanford Bernstein, said it had brought the German market into disrepute. “It is a huge question for regulators and arguably an embarrassment for all European capital markets,” he said.
Christian Strenger, a board member at Germany's largest fund manager, DWS, and a leading corporate governance expert, said: “It should get the politicians and supervisory authorities to think again about allowing this untransparent situation.”