POAHY Porsche Automobile Holding SE (PK)

By William Boston

BERLIN--Porsche Automobil Holding SE [PAH3.XE] said Thursday it will propose the appointment of Hans Dieter Poetsch as chairman of the supervisory board of Volkswagen AG [VOW.XE], its majority owned subsidiary.

Mr. Poetsch's appointment is almost certain, according to Volkswagen's main shareholders, the Porsche and Piech families. However it is likely to disappoint outside investors who had hoped an outsider would be appointed.

It has also been suggested that the choice of Mr. Poetsch is a compromise which will end with the current chief executive, Martin Winterkorn, becoming chairman when his term as CEO ends.

The announcement comes a day after Volkswagen said it would extend Mr. Winterkorn's contract through 2018, ending speculation that he would step down as CEO as early as this year to become chairman. His current contract expires in 2016.

Mr. Poetsch's appointment closes the circle on a rancorous leadership battle that has gripped Europe's biggest car maker by sales since April, when former chairman and long-time corporate patriarch Ferdinand Piech stepped down after a failed bid to oust Mr. Winterkorn.

When Mr. Piech stepped down, Berthold Huber, former head of the IG Metall trade union, stepped in as interim chairman, charged with finding a new permanent appointment for the role.

Mr. Piech wanted to prevent Mr. Winterkorn from becoming chairman after he retired as CEO and instead tried to install an outside chairman. He approached Wolfgang Reitzle, a former BMW AG executive and current chairman of Continental AG, but Mr. Reitzle turned him down, according to people familiar with the situation.

Write to William Boston at William.Boston@wsj.com

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September 03, 2015 09:48 ET (13:48 GMT)

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