Qatar considering stake in VW or Porsche

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} The Gulf state of Qatar is thinking about acquiring a stake in either Volkswagen or its majority owner Porsche.   The Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) is in advanced talks about buying up to 25 percent of Porsche, according to a report in the Financial Times.   Porsche owns more than 50 percent of VW, but suspended its attempt to buy a controlling stake of 75 percent when it ran out of funds.   VW said in a statement that it would welcome the QIA investment because it would speed up the merger with Porsche.   Porsche took on Ôé¼9 billion (┬ú8 billion) of debt to increase its stake in VW, but that debt is now creating tension between the two companies.   If Porsche had succeeded in taking control of VW, it could have used the larger company's financial muscle to refinance its debt, but having failed to do so, it has been forced to apply to the German government for an emergency loan of Ôé¼1.75 billion.   VW and Porsche own stakes in each other through a complicated family history that unites the two carmakers and the German state of Lower Saxony, which holds a 20 percent stake in VW and can block strategic decisions under what is known as the "VW law".   VW chairman Ferdinand Piech, who has a seat on the Porsche board, is the grandson of Ferdinand Porsche, the founder of the eponymous car company. His cousin, Wolfgang Porsche, is chairman of the Porsche holding company.   Qatar's interest in Porsche follows the purchase in March by Aabar, an Abu Dhabi state investment fund, of a 9.1 percent stake in German carmaker Daimler for Ôé¼1.95 billion.   Daimler and Aabar said they would work together on the development of electric vehicles and establish a training centre in Abu Dhabi for the auto industry.   An investment by Qatar into Porsche could involve a similar agreement.     *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *