Porsche clan open to investor, questions over votes

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Porsche shares gained more than 8 percent on talk the debt-laden group could find an outside investor but it remained unclear if its controlling families will loosen their grip.

A spokesman for Porsche on Wednesday said the Piech and Porsche families are open to the idea of selling a stake to an outside investor, sending its non-voting shares up 8.7 percent to close at 44.91 euros.

But Porsche declined to comment on whether the controlling families were ready to surrender voting rights as well.

Porsche has two classes of shares: ordinary shares with voting power which are 100 percent controlled by the extended clan, and its listed preferred shares which carry no votes.

A spokesman for Ferdinand Piech also declined to comment on whether Piech was prepared to cede voting rights to an outside investor. Piech is chairman of Volkswagen and a member of the clan which controls Porsche.

Earlier this month Piech told reporters he was skeptical about the prospect of an outside investor taking a stake in Porsche.

Piech still favors keeping out a third-party if Porsche is able to solve its financial problems on its own, German weekly Wirtschaftswoche reported on Wednesday, citing a source close to Piech.

The emirate of Qatar has in the past expressed an interest in Porsche.

Porsche has sought financial allies for its struggle to bolster its finances after running up 9 billion euros ($12.27 billion) in debt while building a 51 percent stake in Volkswagen.

It has dropped plans to seize full control of VW but still seeks a merger with Europe's largest carmaker.

Porsche Chief Executive Wendelin Wiedeking and Chief Financial Officer Holger Haerter met the state premier of Porsche's home state of Baden-Wuerttemberg, a person familiar with the matter said.

The meeting follows assurances by Premier Guenther Oettinger on Tuesday to do "everything legally and economically possible" to help Porsche "develop strongly."

(Editing by David Cowell)