Porsche Holding Salzburg further strengthens its presence in retail in Italy

• Joint venture with well-known dealer business in Verona will be followed by complete takeover over the medium term
• Agreement to acquire Vicentini S.p.A. signed on 1 August 2018 
• Acquisition subject to approval by EU competition authorities

Europe's largest automotive distribution company, Porsche Holding Salzburg, is entering into a joint venture with a well-known dealer business in Verona (also home to the importer of Volkswagen group brands) with the continued involvement of the current owners. Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, which was signed on 1 August 2018, Porsche Holding Salzburg will acquire all Vicentini shares in a step-by-step manner in the period to 2023.

Vicentini S.p.A is a well-known and very successful automotive dealer business in Italy, selling the Volkswagen, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Audi and Porsche brands.

In 2017, it employed 187 people and sold 6,700 new vehicles, generating turnover of around 250 million euros.

"Following our recent acquisition of the Bonaldi dealer group in Bergamo, we are delighted about this further important acquisition, which will support our ambitious growth targets in retail in Italy", said Johannes Sieberer, Executive Member of the PHS Board for Retail Austria, CEE, Italy, Sweden and China.

The retail operations of Porsche Holding's subsidiary Eurocar Italia s.r.l are headed by Country Manager Matthias Moser, who commented enthusiastically on the acquisition: "We already have 19 dealerships in the Friuli Venezia Giulia region, Lombardy and Tuscany. The Vicentini project is a high-profile one - and furthermore is in Verona, where the importer is headquartered - and will be our twentieth dealership. It will strengthen our local presence and optimally complement Eurocar Italia's existing retail network."

Vicentini S.p.A. was founded in 1974 and has steadily built up its brand portfolio; it currently sells four Volkswagen group brands. In 2011, the dealership underwent remodelling and is in line with all current standards.

"Thanks to the step-by-step acquisition by Porsche Holding Salzburg, Vicentini will have an international, highly experienced owner that will continue to manage the company successfully in the future", commented Giorgio Marra, Chairman of Vicentini S.p.A.

Porsche Holding Salzburg continues its expansion in retail in Italy

Eurocar Italia S.r.l., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Porsche Holding Salzburg, acquired Volkswagen Group Firenze, with six dealerships with high sales volumes, at the start of 2017; in August 2018, it acquired Bonaldi Group in Bergamo, with eight dealerships. The step-by-step acquisition of Vicentini S.p.A. means that within the space of just two years, Eurocar Italia will have doubled its new vehicle sales volume to around 25,600 vehicles, with 20 dealerships and an employee headcount of 850. In 2018, Eurocar Italia will generate turnover of 400 million euros (not including Bonaldi Group or Vicentini).

Porsche Holding Salzburg: Porsche Holding GmbH, headquartered in Salzburg, has been a wholly-owned subsidiary of Volkswagen AG since 1 March 2011; its operations are in wholesale, retail, financial services and IT systems development. The company was founded in 1949, and as of the end of 2017 had operations in 27 countries (Austria, Western Europe, South-Eastern Europe, Colombia, Chile, China, Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei).