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Porsche Agrees to Invest in Rescue of Troubled Battery Maker
- Varta’s debt deal includes Porsche, Tojner cash injection
- Existing lenders to provide loan, take stake in battery maker
Varta AG batteries.
Photographer: Marijan Murat/picture alliance/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Porsche AG agreed to become a shareholder in Varta AG, providing fresh cash to the embattled German battery-maker as part of a debt-restructuring deal with lenders.
Under the plan, the maker of the electric-powered Taycan sports car and current majority owner Michael Tojner are set to each hold around 32% of the company after participating in a €60 million ($66 million) capital increase, according to a statement on Saturday. Existing lenders will hold 36% of the company via so-called value-recovery instruments.