Frankfurt: The German luxury sportscar maker Porsche said Tuesday it was in exclusive talks with Qatar over a possible stake in the company.

“We are currently speaking only with Qatar,” a Porsche spokesman told AFP.

“The talks are marked by a good atmosphere,” he added without providing details.

“All variations are under discussion,” the spokesman nonetheless said.

Porsche is weighed down by heavy debt incurred while it pursued a takeover of Volkswagen, the biggest European carmaker in which it now holds a stake of 51%.

Porsche abandoned an attempt to take full control of VW last month and the two car makers said they would discuss terms of a merger.

Qatar could now buy shares in Porsche via a capital increase, or shares in VW by paying Porsche for stock options held by the maker of the 911 sports car.

Investing directly in Porsche would allow the company to come back to its original plan of taking over the much bigger VW.

Porsche, which is owned by the Porsche and Piech families, has also raised controversy by asking for aid in the form of a €1.75-billion ($2.43-billion) credit from the state-owned bank KfW.