BBC Business – Hedge funds have lost £18bn in two days of trading in Volkswagen (VW) shares that briefly saw the carmaker become the world’s most valuable company.
VW shares rose 348% over Monday and Tuesday after it emerged that only about 5% of its shares were available.
Funds that had bet on the shares falling desperately needed to buy the shares to close their positions.
But VW shares fell 45% in trading on Wednesday as Porsche said it would help to solve the hedge funds’ problems.
"In order to avoid further market distortions and the resulting consequences for those involved, Porsche SE intends – depending on the state of the market – to settle hedging transactions in the amount of up to 5% of the Volkswagen ordinary shares," Porsche said in a statement.
