Porsche: has spoken to Lower Saxony on VW share sale

FRANKFURT, April 19 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's (VOWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) biggest shareholder Porsche (PSHG_p.DE: Quote, Profile, Research) has sounded out the government of Lower Saxony on the sale of the state's 20.1 percent stake in VW.

Porsche gave no official offer, a Porsche spokesman said on Saturday. But unofficially, Porsche asked whether Lower Saxony was ready to sell an indefinite part of its Volkswagen holding.

Porsche owns 31 percent of VW, Europe's biggest automaker, and wants to raise its stake to a controlling majority.

Lower Saxony made clear that it would not part with its stake. "There is no offer from Porsche. A sale of the stake is not up for discussion," a spokesman for Lower Saxony said in Hanover.

Spiegel magazine reported that Porsche had, in private talks with Lower Saxony Chancellor Christian Wulff, inquired whether the state was ready to sell half of its VW stake.

Porsche had offered the state government two seats on the VW supervisory board.

Wulff has rejected the offer, Spiegel reported.

Lower Saxony is actively campaigning for a new Volkswagen Law that would mean all key decisions had to be supported by 80 percent of investors present at annual meetings, and would grant labour representatives on the board a veto right when shifting production out of Germany.

The state is backed in its efforts by the half of the board that is comprised of organised labour. (Reporting by Jan Schwartz and Hendrik Sackmann, writing by Rajiv Sekhri/Ruth Pitchford)