VW investor Qatar complicates plant deal talks with Israeli arms maker, sources say

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Yesterday 17:22

By Christina Amann and Andreas Rinke
BERLIN, June 17 (Reuters) - Volkswagen's VOWG.DE plans for a deal with Israeli arms maker Rafael to use its struggling Osnabrueck plant are being complicated by Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, the German carmaker's third-largest investor, three people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
Qatar, which holds 17% of voting rights in Europe's biggest carmaker via the Qatar Investment Authority, has raised issues over the talks between the two companies, pointing to the Gulf state's complicated relationship with Israel.
This risks delaying one of Volkswagen's key projects in its ongoing turnaround, including attempts to offload idling plants including via deals with defence firms as low auto sector demand across the continent bites.
Spokespeople for Volkswagen, the group's supervisory board and QIA all declined to comment on the matter, which has been previously unreported.

 (Reporting by Christina Amann and Andreas Rinke; Additional reporting by Andrew Mills and Rachel More; Editing by Christoph Steitz and Jan Harvey)
 ((rachel.more@thomsonreuters.com;))