Porsche announced earlier this month that it was holding talks with Qatar about a possible investment deal, and it appears a deal could be hammered out by early next month. Qatar prime minister Sheik Hamad Bin Jassem Al Thani said on Wednesday the details of the deal will be made public within three weeks.
Porsche began seeking outside investors earlier this year after it racked up more than $12 billion in debt in a failed attempt to take over Volkswagen . Reports surfaced that Qatar was mulling a 25 percent purchase of Porsche, but the Gulf state has yet to confirm that rumor, according to The Detroit News.
Porsche currently owns a 51 percent stake in VW, but is struggling to make ends meet after failing to take over the much larger German automaker. Porsche now has more than $12 billion in debt and is facing a cash shortfall of about $3.5 billion. Porsche has asked the German government for $2.5 billion in loans, but is still in need of about another $1 billion. It remains unclear if the Qatar deal will be worth that much, but it should at least help Porsche back to viability.
