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Qatar is still considering taking a stake in Porsche, according to the Gulf state's finance minister.

Porsche is currently struggling to service its £7.8 billion of debt, which it ran up in a failed bid to gain a majority stake in rival Volkswagen.

Click here to read 'Porsche applies for £1.5bn loan'

"Our government is interested in acquiring a stake in Porsche. When and how much, I don'...Read the full article

Welsh Wizard quote, Porsche Panamera Inside Story:Nov 25, 2008 7:48 PM   I predict that this will be the car that brings about the downfall of the marque.   Errr, told you so..........!!!

Its not the Panamera that's crippled them though, is it?  Its their hedge fund division which borrowed massively to buy more of VW than Porsche could afford.  Unless you think the development of the evil Panamera unleashed a curse upon the Porsche hedge fund, bringing them bad luck by way of recession and problems refinancing?

Unlikely, in my view.

Porsche could just sell its shares of VW to release billions in equity.

Smart investment for Qatar, and if they've got the money, why the heck not.  This financial crisis isn't going to last for ever and the only reason Porsche are in this situation is because it gambled and lost, nothing to do with their products.

Casanova:

Its not the Panamera that's crippled them though, is it?  Its their hedge fund division which borrowed massively to buy more of VW than Porsche could afford.  Unless you think the development of the evil Panamera unleashed a curse upon the Porsche hedge fund, bringing them bad luck by way of recession and problems refinancing?

In a funny way, the Panamera and VW saga epitomises Porsche's over-confidence in thinking that the brand is invulnerable. The Cayenne, although successful, changed a lot of people's perception of what Porsche stood for (not in a good way), and the VW debacle and Panamera are both example of their fallibility in decision-making. The D&D costs for this white elephant would have been around £2bn........about the same amount they now find themselves trying to re-finance.  

As the old saying goes "money talks", the West has lost control of the world markets and we can't do a thing about it!,now with the recession,money from anywhere is taken gladly.The next decade will be very interesting, won't it?

Audi Tastic:

Porsche could just sell its shares of VW to release billions in equity.

I don't think they can as they risk a massive drop in the share value if they do - thus gambling the one bargaining chip they have. It's very hard to see how this is going to pan out. Where is Horseandcart when you need him? I think the Panamera is factor myself, albeit a small one - it just shows lack of foresight.