The on-again/off-again tie-up of Porsche and Volkswagen finally is set to be completed after a series of potentially costly snags that threatened to scuttle the deal.
The marriage – which follows an abortive David-and-Goliath effort by the smaller maker that triggered an assortment of lawsuits and a feud within the extended Porsche family – is “expected…to take effect as of August 1, 2012,” Volkswagen says.

Despite earlier fears that the tie-up could leave them vulnerable to billions of dollars in legal costs due to those lawsuits, the makers now contend the merger will generate a “clearly positive impact on consolidated profit(s).” “We will concentrate all our strength on the operative business and the solid, profitable growth of the company,” says Volkswagen CEO Martin Winterkorn, adding that the newly combined firm should achieve “long-term synergies of about €700 million per year.”

 “In the end, it’s all about the money,” said analyst Joe Phillippi, of AutoTrends Consulting. And once Porsche found a way to minimize the potential financial risks, Phillippi believes it was inevitable the deal would be completed.

The merger will come as a peaceful end to one of the most bitter battles the auto industry has seen in years. In a highly unlikely scenario, Porsche began accumulating shares of the bigger maker hoping to take over VW. Bu