Porsche 2011 Annual Report Download - page 204

Moreover, on 18 February 2011, three of the plaintiffs, and on 15 March 2011 a further 23 of the
plaintiffs, filed two actions in New York state court. In their complaints, they assert claims for common law
fraud and unjust enrichment on the basis of allegations similar to those made in their complaints in the actions
referred to above. The plaintiffs claim to have lost at least USD 1.4 billion. Porsche SE considers these actions
to be legally insufficient and without merit.
In 2009 and 2010, institutional investors in Germany applied for conciliatory proceedings against
Porsche SE with regard to the assertion of claims for damages on the basis of alleged breaches of statutory
capital market regulations in connection with the acquisition of a shareholding in Volkswagen AG. Various
investors have filed further applications for conciliatory proceedings against Porsche SE based on the same
claims; the company received these applications in April, August and December 2011 and in January and
February 2012. Some of the new applications are also directed against Volkswagen AG. All of the alleged
claims relate to alleged lost profits or alleged losses incurred estimated by the investors to total approximately
€3.3 billion. Porsche SE considers the alleged claims to be without merit and has not taken part in the
conciliatory proceedings.
In January 2011, a private investor filed a claim for damages against Porsche SE and another
defendant in the amount of approximately €3 million. The plaintiff claims to have entered into options relating to
shares in Volkswagen AG in 2008 on the basis of inaccurate information and the omission of information as
well as market manipulation by Porsche SE and to have incurred losses from these options due to the share
price development in 2008 in the amount claimed. The action was referred by the Regional Court of Stuttgart
to the Regional Court of Braunschweig. Porsche SE considers the alleged claim to be without merit and has
responded by filing a motion to dismiss.
In October 2011, ARFB Anlegerschutz UG (haftungsbeschränkt), Berlin, brought an action before the
Regional Court of Braunschweig against Porsche SE and Volkswagen AG based on claims for damages
allegedly assigned to it by 41 investment funds, insurance companies and other companies in the amount of
approximately €1.1 billion. Some of the 41 investors are also applicants in the aforementioned conciliatory
proceedings. Four of the investors are hedge funds that have filed claims against Porsche SE before a US
federal court that were dismissed in first instance. In December 2011, this claim was extended to include the
alleged claims for damages filed by ARFB Anlegerschutz UG (haftungsbeschränkt) on behalf of another 24
entities for an allegedly assigned right in the amount of approximately €700 million. Two of these other
investors are hedge funds that have filed claims against Porsche SE before a US federal court that were
dismissed in first instance. In connection with the extension of the claim in December 2011, ARFB
Anlegerschutz UG (haftungsbeschränkt) also partly withdrew its original action to the extent that alleged claims
for damages of an investment fund in the amount of approximately €4.5 million arising from an allegedly
assigned right are no longer upheld. In addition, ARFB Anlegerschutz UG (haftungsbeschränkt) filed another
action against the company at the Regional Court of Braunschweig in December 2011, asserting alleged
claims for damages on behalf of another five companies, again from alleged assigned right, for a total of
approximately €351 million. The plaintiff alleges that, in 2008, on the basis of inaccurate information and the
omission of information as well as market manipulation by Porsche SE, the companies behind the complaints
either failed to participate in price increases of shares in Volkswagen AG and, hence, lost profits or entered into
options relating to shares in Volkswagen AG and incurred losses from these options due to the share price
development in the amount claimed. Porsche SE considers the alleged claims to be without merit and will
defend itself against them.
204 FINANCIALS