Porsche Automobil Holding SE, Stuttgart (“Porsche SE”), reached an agreement with Suzuki Motor Corporation, Shizuoka, to acquire a stake of 1.5 percent in the ordinary shares of Volkswagen AG, Wolfsburg, in an off-market transaction.

The Japanese automaker said on Saturday that it had sold 4,397,000 Volkswagen common shares and that they would be transferred on September 30.

The move comes days after Volkswagen was hit by a scandal over allegedly rigged USA emissions tests in diesel vehicles. Suzuki sold the 4.397 million Volkswagen shares for an undisclosed amount, and will disclose a revised earnings outlook if it sees the need, the statement said.

Due to business policy conflicts, Suzuki asked Volkswagen to cancel the partnership. Despite the plunging stock price, Suzuki said this week that it still meant to shed its stake in Volkswagen. As the global Chamber of Commerce’s worldwide Court of Arbitration upheld in August this year Suzuki’s call for the termination of the tie-up, the two companies made a decision to sell their shareholdings in each other.