Volkswagen's two biggest investors proposed changes to the carmaker's statutes on Friday that set the stage for a showdown over shareholder rights at the annual general meeting (AGM) on April 24.
Porsche, already VW's largest shareholder with a 31 percent voting stake and poised to take its stake to a majority, unveiled amendments that would clip the wings of Lower Saxony, the home state of Europe's biggest carmaker. The sports car maker proposed reducing the majority needed to carry important decisions at VW shareholder meetings to 75 percent - as is the case at most German companies - from 80 percent now.
It also wants to eliminate the right of Lower Saxony or the German federal government to name VW supervisory board members, and would scrap a cap on individual shareholders' voting rights at 20 percent.
It said these measures would make Volkswagen statutes reflect a decision last year by Europe's highest court that struck down a German law that effectively shielded VW from hostile take-overs by limiting shareholders' voting rights.
In a separate statement, Lower Saxony said it will propose amending Volkswagen's corporate statutes in a way that preserves its ability to block strategic decisions with its 20 percent stake.
That means that only a joint proposal from it and Porsche would be able to win approval at shareholders' meetings. It said it too was prepared to drop statutes that give the state the right to name VW board members and that limit individual voting rights at 20 percent. Volkswagen shares rose 1 percent to 157.70 euros by 1051 GMT and Porsche stock gained 1.5 percent to 111.40 euros while the DJ Stoxx European car sector index added 1.4 percent.