Qatar has made a formal offer to buy stock from Porsche.
The offer, which Porsche is hoping to use to reduce its nine billion Euro (£7.6 billion) debt, was confirmed by a Porsche spokesman. It is thought that Qatar would buy some of Porsche's holding in VW from it.
See all the latest Porsche reviews, news and video
"We received an offer from the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) concerning an investment in Porsche SE and the purchase of options in Volkswagen (AG) stock," he said.
However, no timeframe for any possible deal has been announced, and Qatar is reported to be keen to wait for any merger between Porsche and VW to go ahead.
The news comes as Lower Saxony, Volkswagen's second-largest shareholder, urged Porsche and VW to settle their differences and agree a merger.
"We need to clarify now whether each will go his own way or whether there is a common solution," Christian Wulff, premier of the German state of Lower Saxony, said.
Wulff said he felt a "certain irritation" after Porsche accused Volkswagen and Lower Saxony, which owns a blocking minority stake in Europe's biggest carmaker, of pressuring the automaker to agree to a deal quickly.
"Apparently not all facts are known to everyone," he said.
Add your comment