VOLKSWAGEN

Porsche SE on Thursday refused to cede victory to Volkswagen in a test of wills over who will control the automotive juggernaut the German carmakers aim to forge.

Two plans are on the table to relieve Porsche SE's 10 billion euro ($14.09 billion) net debt burden and perhaps foster a tie-up with Volkswagen to create an automotive powerhouse.

The families that own Porsche SE have not yet agreed on a strategy to cut the automotive group's debt and join forces with Volkswagen, Porsche's deputy chairman said on Thursday.

The owners of indebted automotive group Porsche SE have agreed in principle to accept Volkswagen's plan for a merger but the deal awaits final approval, German newspapers reported on Thursday.

The end game in thorny merger talks between Porsche and Volkswagen looms on July 23 when the carmakers' supervisory boards meet separately in Porsche's home town of Stuttgart.

Sports car maker Porsche SE aims to use a capital increase and the sale of a stake to Qatar to cut its net debt that has ballooned to more than 10 billion euros ($14.05 billion), two sources close to Porsche told Reuters on Wednesday.

Sports car maker Porsche SE aims to use a capital increase and the sale of a stake to Qatar to cut its net debt that has ballooned to more than 10 billion euros ($14.05 billion), two sources close to Porsche told Reuters on Wednesday.

Volkswagen's second-biggest shareholder, the state of Lower Saxony, pushed to break the deadlock in merger talks with Porsche, saying it is looking for a clarity over the matter this week.

RHJ International (RHJI.BR) declared its interest in Opel on Monday and Qatar looked to be moving closer to a 7 billion euro bailout of Porsche (PSHG_p.DE), raising the stakes in the battles for control of both German carmakers.

Volkswagen has sweetened its bid to purchase almost half of sports car maker Porsche AG and is prepared to offer considerably more than 4 billion euros ($5.58 billion), Germany's Der Spiegel reported.

Volkswagen has improved an offer to buy almost half of Porsche, a magazine reported on Saturday, a deal that would reverse an ambitious bid by the luxury carmaker for VW that unraveled in the crisis.

Porsche may own a lot of options over Volkswagen shares. But the German sports car maker is increasingly bereft of alternatives when it comes to financing its own stretched balance sheet.

Audi AG, a German subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, said on Monday it sold 67,000 cars in the January-June period, the best first-half result ever in the country.

Automobile output in Brazil climbed in June for the second straight month as manufacturers stepped up production to meet growing consumer demand, the national automakers' association Anfavea said on Monday.

Porsche on Monday denied a newspaper report which said five more potential bidders have emerged for a Porsche-owned derivatives package which controls around 20 percent of Volkswagen voting shares.

Three more bidders are interested in taking a stake in German sports car maker Porsche, rivaling investment plans by Qatar, German magazine Focus reported on Saturday.

Volkswagen chief executive Martin Winterkorn said Europe's largest auto maker sold 6 percent more cars and transporters in June than in the same month a year earlier.

The head of Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp (7269.T) said he has had no contact with Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE), shooting down a report last week that the German auto giant was considering a 10 percent stake in Suzuki, a Japanese newspaper said.

Volkswagen and its key shareholder, the state of Lower Saxony, have confronted Porsche with an ultimatum to accept a tie-up of the two carmakers under VW's tutelage or else face more severe financial turmoil, Web site Spiegel online reported.

Cash-rich German carmaker Volkswagen AG and its ailing majority owner Porsche SE must decide soon whether to integrate or not, VW's home state of Lower Saxony said on Monday.

Volkswagen said it had not presented Porsche with an ultimatum to accept its layout for a merger of the two carmakers, denying a media report and accusations from Porsche.