ELLWANGEN/STUTTGART (dpa-AFX) - The sports car manufacturer Porsche AG wants to buy the electric car battery business of the ailing battery group Varta. The two companies are currently in negotiations about a possible majority investment in the Varta subsidiary V4Drive, Varta announced in Ellwangen last night. The companies have already signed a non-binding letter of intent. Initially, the Varta subsidiary is to be outsourced, then the Volkswagen Group subsidiary Porsche would participate by increasing its capital.

Varta did not provide any financial details. According to Varta, whether the deal will go ahead still depends on various factors, including a detailed examination of the books by Porsche.

Varta is in dire straits because its business is no longer running smoothly. The Group is currently having its existing restructuring report updated (so-called IDW S6 report). This is to examine the possibilities for a fundamental restructuring and the resulting financing measures.

The electric car battery under the name V4Drive should open up new business opportunities for Varta in electromobility. There had long been speculation that Porsche would be a first customer for Varta's battery cells.

The sports car manufacturer wants to set up its own battery cell production with partners anyway. According to earlier statements, the Zuffenhausen-based company is planning to set up a production facility with an annual cell capacity of 10 to 20 gigawatt hours in the coming years. This would be enough for 200,000 cars with a battery capacity of 100 kilowatt hours. Porsche sold around 320,000 cars in 2023, but the majority are still combustion cars.

Investments of 2 to 3 billion euros are needed for 20 gigawatt hours, it was said. Porsche wants to find partners for this. It is not yet clear where such cell production would take place. Porsche also wants to work together with the parent company Volkswagen's battery company PowerCo./men/nas/stk