Despite heated debates at the general meeting of Volkswagen the outcome of the voting results did not come as a surprise. The company’s major shareholders, Porsche/Piech, Lower Saxony and Qatar, which hold around 90% of the company’s voting rights voted down the resolutions of DSW to appoint an independent special auditor.
“Due to the shareholder structure and the clear positioning of the major shareholders ahead of the meeting it was obvious that our resolution would not receive the necessary majority. Nevertheless we are convinced that an independent audit to investigate the diesel scandal is necessary. Therefore we will enforce the special audit by court decision,” DSW president Ulrich Hocker states and adds: “We want transparency for all shareholders, also for those who are not represented on the supervisory board or have a direct contact to the management.”
Free float investors attending the general meeting obviously shared DSW’s view: More than 50% of the share capital present or represented that was not connected to the majority shareholders supported DSW’s special audit resolutions.
The special audits are necessary:
• To audit important details connected with “Dieselgate”, also including the question, whether the management and supervisory board of Volkswagen AG violated their legal duties and thereby harmed the company.
• To examine whether the company’s risk management and compliance system has been reviewed and adequately adjusted in the meantime.
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