Porsche's VW dream near an end

STUTTGART, Germany, June 19 (UPI) -- German automaker Porsche said revenues dropped 15 percent in the past three quarters, putting a dream of controlling Volkswagen in the back seat.

Porsche had once attempted a David and Goliath takeover of rival Volkswagen, but the effort sputtered after a move in October to increase holdings beyond 20 percent, The New York Times reported Friday.

In March, Porsche had to turn around and borrow $977 million from Volkswagen, a reversal of fortune predicated by a $12.5 billion debt load it took on during October's lunge at Volkswagen.

At this point, "Porsche has debt and VW has the luxury of cash," said industry analyst Arndt Ellinghorst at Credit Suisse.

Currently, instead of pushing for more shares of Volkswagen, Porsche has applied for a $2.5 billion government bailout and entered talks with the Qatar Investment Authority, which may purchase 25 percent of Porsche and the company's options on Volkswagen shares, the newspaper said.

The deal with Qatar could be worth about $7 billion, offering Porsche considerable debt relief, but ending its bid for control of Volkswagen.

"That scenario does not exist anymore, said Daniel Schwarz, an automotive analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt.