Porsche To Hold Special Meeting

STUTTGART, Germany (AP) -- Porsche's supervisory board will hold an extraordinary meeting on July 23, a spokesman said Friday, as the company grapples with debt that it accumulated building up its share in Volkswagen AG.

Spokesman Albrecht Bamler confirmed the date of the Porsche Automobil Holding SE meeting but would not say what it would discuss. Volkswagen refused to comment on the issue.

However, Stuttgart-based Porsche has said that a Qatar investment fund has offered to buy a stake in the sports car maker. Volkswagen also has proposed taking a 49 percent stake in Porsche -- an idea that Porsche so far has rejected.

Porsche is trying to alleviate debt it ran up as it increased its stake in larger German auto maker Volkswagen, in which it now holds a 51 percent stake.

Last month, Germany's state-owned KfW development bank rejected its application for euro1.75 billion ($2.4 billion) in credit.

Porsche shares were 1 percent higher at euro42.69, while shares of Volkswagen were 1.3 percent lower at euro214.50 in Frankfurt afternoon trading.