Porsche confirms exclusive talks with Qatar investment fund

October 10th, 2009 Qatar fund boosts stake in London property companyDUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Qatar's sovereign wealth fund said Saturday it has become the biggest shareholder in the company that owns much of London's Canary Wharf business district, highlighting a renewed appetite by Gulf investors for property in well-established markets. Qatar Holding said it has increased its holding to 24 percent of the ordinary shares of the real estate company, Songbird Estates PLC.

August 15th, 2009 Qatar acquire 17% Porsche stakeDOHA, Qatar — Qatar Holding has announced it will acquire a 17 percent stake in Volkswagen AG, which is merging with Porsche, in a deal that will exceed $10 billion. This comes after the Porsche and Piech families said it will sell a 10 percent stake of their shares to the Gulf company.

August 13th, 2009 VW, Porsche meet, merger news eyedFRANKFURT — Officials from German car companies Volkswagen AG and Porsche AG were meeting in Wolfsburg Thursday afternoon amid intense interest about their announced merger. Observers are anxious to hear what plans the supervisory boards have and what sort of financial commitments are being made in their efforts to form closer ties.

July 23rd, 2009 Porsche SE says CEO stepping downSTUTTGART, Germany — The supervisory board of Porsche Automobil Holding SE said Thursday it has voted to accept the resignation of CEO Wendelin Wiedeking with immediate effect. The statement came after an all-night meeting on the future of the company where the board agreed to seek a capital increase of at least euro5 billion ($7.1 billion), and threw its weight behind talks with a Qatar investment fund, according to a spokesman.

July 23rd, 2009 Porsche, VW meet amid dueling plans for takeoversBERLIN — The boards of Porsche and Volkswagen meet Thursday in what could be a decisive moment in the battle over competing plans for takeovers and new investors. At stake is who will control what would be Germany's most powerful auto maker.

July 23rd, 2009 Porsche board meets amid talk of takeoverSTUTTGART, Germany — Porsche Automobil Holding SE's supervisory board agreed early Thursday morning to seek a capital increase of at least €5 billion ($7.1 billion), and threw its weight behind talks with a Qatar investment fund, a spokesman said. Porsche spokesman Albrecht Bamler said the decisions came after a special meeting that started late Wednesday — a day earlier than Porsche SE — which owns Porsche AG and a 51 percent stake in Volkswagen — had originally planned an extraordinary meeting to talk about the future of both of the companies.

July 20th, 2009 VW shares slide on Porsche concernsFRANKFURT — Shares of Volkswagen AG slid Monday following a report that a plan by Europe's biggest auto maker to buy Porsche could be derailed by hefty tax demands. The German daily Sueddeutsche Zeitung, citing unidentified supervisory board sources at Porsche, reported that a plan for VW to buy 49 percent of the heavily leveraged sports car maker could trigger tax demands of up to euro3 billion (nearly $4.3 billion).

July 10th, 2009 Porsche board to hold special meetingSTUTTGART, Germany — Porsche's supervisory board will hold an extraordinary meeting on July 23, a spokesman said Friday, as the company grapples with debt that it accumulated building up its share in Volkswagen AG. Spokesman Albrecht Bamler confirmed the date of the Porsche Automobil Holding SE meeting but would not say what it would discuss.

June 19th, 2009 Porsche's 9-month profit drops to €4.6 billionBERLIN — Automaker Porsche SE said Friday its nine-month profit dropped 15 percent to €4.6 billion ($6.4 billion), excluding its holdings of Volkswagen AG, as the global economic crisis drove down demand for new cars. The Stuttgart-based luxury carmaker said its sales from Aug.

June 19th, 2009 Porsche's 9-month profit drops to euro4.6 billionBERLIN — Automaker Porsche SE said Friday its nine-month profit dropped 15 percent to euro4.6 billion ($6.4 billion), excluding its holdings of Volkswagen AG, as the global economic crisis drove down demand for new cars. The Stuttgart-based luxury carmaker said its sales from Aug.

May 6th, 2009 Porsche to form "integrated" carmaker with VWSALZBURG, Austria — Porsche SE announced Wednesday it was moving toward creating an "integrated" carmaker with fellow German automaker Volkswagen AG, but emphasized that the high-end sports car company would retain its independence. The statement came following private meetings in Salzburg of the Piech and Porsche families — the controlling shareholders of Porsche Automobil Holding SE.

May 6th, 2009 Piech, Porsche families indicate merger interestSALZBURG, Austria — Porsche SE announced Wednesday it was moving toward creating an "integrated" carmaker with fellow German automaker Volkswagen AG, but emphasized that the high-end sports car company would retain its independence. The statement came following private meetings in Salzburg of the Piech and Porsche families — the controlling shareholders of Porsche Automobil Holding SE.

May 6th, 2009 Piech, Porsche families meet in AustriaSALZBURG, Austria — The families that control Porsche meet Wednesday to decide if the automaker should sell Porsche to Volkswagen or even merge the two German automakers. Members of the Piech and Porsche families, the controlling share holders of Porsche Automobil Holding SE are meeting privately in Austria, but neither company has said what the talks are focusing on.

April 28th, 2009 Qatar eyes stake in Germany's PorscheCAIRO — Qatar is in discussions about the possibility of buying a stake in Germany automaker Porsche AG, the country's prime minister said in the latest indication the energy rich Persian Gulf nation is pushing ahead with its growth and investment plans despite the global recession. Sheik Hamad bin Jassem Al Thani was quoted Tuesday by the country's Al-Arab newspaper as saying that discussions and meetings are ongoing with the luxury sports car maker, but no decision had been reached.

January 18th, 2009 DUBAI - Members of an expatriate Indian organisation in Qatar have come together and contributed 50,001 Qatari riyals (around $13,737) to a fund created for the aid of victims in the Gaza violence. The Indian Cultural and Arts Society (Incas) has become the first expatriate organisation in that Gulf country to contribute to the Gaza Fund that was created by Qatar Charity, the largest non-government charitable organisation in Qatar.