Fresh (and yet almost unbelievable) from the FT’s Daniel Schäfer in Frankfurt:
Porsche offered ousted chief €140m
A row over the €50m payoff for Porsche’s ousted chief executive intensified up on Friday when it emerged that the sports carmaker’s family owners had originally offered Wendelin Wiedeking €140m. Wolfgang Porsche, Porsche chairman, had proposed the bigger compensation package at a supervisory board showdown on Wednesday, several people close to the situation told the Financial Times. But the plan to pay one of the biggest compensation packages in the world was fended off by the employee representatives on the board, these people said.
Of course, like most other publicity-conscious hedge fund managers, Wiedeking has promised to give more than half the €50n he subsequently walked away with to charidy.
This begs quite a few questions – but one, in particular, springs to mind: over what, exactly, was Porsche chairman Wolfgang Porsche trying to buy Wiedeking’s silence?
Related links:
Now that’s a payoff – FT Alphaville
Porsche – Lex