Qatar has a 17 percent voting stake in Volkswagen and is set to take a seat on Porsche's supervisory board, underlining the more active role Gulf states are playing in the German auto industry. After exercising options in Volkswagen - as was expected by market participants for some time - Qatar Holding LLC now holds 17 percent in Volkswagen's share capital, it said.
"As a long-term strategic investor, we continue to believe that the investment in VW and the envisaged combination of Porsche SE and VW represents a unique investment asset for Qatar Holding," said Ahmad Al-Sayed, CEO of Qatar Holding. The move also fuels concerns that the falling number of freely traded VW ordinary shares could mean they are replaced on Germany's blue chip index by its preferred shares.
"From our point of view, as of today the free float in VW ords will fall below the 10 percent threshold," DZ Bank analyst Michael Punzet wrote in a note. Ordinary shares in the company fell as much as 6.5 percent, while the preferred shares rose as much as 4.3 percent. In addition, Porsche said - in the invitation to its annual general meeting scheduled for January 29 - it would propose Qatar's Sheikh Jassim Bin Abdulaziz Bin Jassim Al-Thani for a place on its supervisory board.