STUTTGART, Germany (Reuters) - Volkswagen (XETRA:VOWG)'s (DE:VOWG_p) ousted patriarch Ferdinand Piech "probably" wants to stay involved with the carmaker, a fellow member of the company's controlling clan said on Wednesday, amid speculation Piech might look to sell down his stake.
Piech, at the helm of Europe's biggest carmaker for more than two decades, was pushed out last month over his public criticism of Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn, who was backed by other stakeholders and members of the clan.
Porsche SE (DE:PSHG_p), a holding company owned by the Porsche and Piech families, controls 51 percent of Volkswagen's (VW) common stock.
Speaking ahead of Porsche SE's annual shareholder meeting on Wednesday, its chairman Wolfgang Porsche said the holding would continue to live up to its responsibilities towards VW.
Asked whether that also applied to Ferdinand Piech, his cousin whose departure has raised a host of questions about the future shape of VW, Porsche said: "Probably yes."
Sources close to the matter say Piech threatened to sell his share of the family holding during the showdown with Winterkorn.
Piech has cancelled his attendance of Porsche SE's shareholder meeting, a spokesman for the holding company said. His board seat at Porsche SE is the only office he did not resign when he quit VW on April 25.
Winterkorn, also CEO of Porsche SE, told reporters he was not surprised Piech didn't attend the meeting of more than 4,000 shareholders in Stuttgart, where sports-car maker Porsche AG is based.