Norway's state pension fund queries VW takeover of Porsche

Norway's state pension fund queries VW takeover of PorscheOslo  - The terms for Volkswagen's takeover of sports-car maker Porsche have been questioned by the Norwegian state pension fund, reports said Thursday.

The pension fund, which has a minority stake in Volkswagen, expressed "deep concern" over the deal in a letter sent Wednesday to Volkswagen's supervisory board.

The fund said it was not convinced the deal would "benefit Volkswagen's various shareholders equitably."

"The planned transactions, as presented to the market, in isolation and taken together, leave the impression of being designed to suit the needs of the Porsche controlling families at the expense of Volkswagen and its non-controlling owners," the letter said.

Concerns also included the price tag for the Porsche shares.

Anne Kvam, head of corporate governance at the pension fund, told online financial site E24 that the fund had "questions about how the price was set, and wonder about the assessment considering that Porsche was the company in trouble."

Kvam was apparently referring to Porsche's attempt to bid for VW which was abandoned earlier this year after it wracked up a huge debt.

In August the supervisory boards of Volkswagen and Porsche inked a deal to merge the two carmakers by 2011.

The government pension fund Global is managed by the central bank and uses income from Norway's petroleum wealth. It was created to pay for Norway's future health and pension expenditures through investments outside the Norwegian economy.

The fund owns shares in some 7,700 companies worldwide. (dpa)