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. In a statement released late Friday, Qatar Holding said it will now be the third largest shareholder in VW, after Porsche and Lower Saxony. The purchase follows the UAE's Aabar Investment acquisition in March of a 10 percent stake of Daimler AG, famed for its Mercedes-Benz brand, indicating continuing Gulf interest in the European automotive sector despite the economic downturn. The statement says Porsche will also establish research facilities in Doha as part of the deal. Qatar Holding will acquire ordinary shares from the Porsche and Piëch families, who own the voting stock, Porsche said. Qatar also agreed to provide 265 million euros ($376 million) to participate in a syndicated loan, Porsche said. The transaction will help finance the combination of Volkswagen, Europe's largest carmaker, with Porsche, which is struggling with 10 billion euros ($14.2 billion) in debt after acquiring 51 percent of Volkswagen in a failed takeover attempt. Volkswagen, based in Wolfsburg, Germany, agreed on Thursday to pay 3.3 billion euros ($4.7 billion) for a 42 percent stake in Porsche's automotive unit as a first step in the two-year merger process. Porsche, which is based in Stuttgart, Germany, halted its effort in May to buy VW, which included purchasing options for an additional 20 percent of Volkswagen stock, and the companies outlined plans last month that included Qatari investments. Qatar will acquire a majority of the options, Porsche said Friday, without specifying a figure.
