Volkswagen announced last night its intention to finalize the IPO of Porsche despite the concern on the global markets.
Volkswagen said last night that the Porsche IPO would be launched in late September or early October, with completion by the end of 2022. The decision to list the sports car company in Frankfurt came after Volkswagen’s supervisory board voted in favor of the plan Monday night.
Investors expect the company to be valued at between 60 and 85 billion euros. And if the top end of the range is reached, it could be the largest IPO in German history and one of the largest in Europe since 1999, according to Refinitiv data. Currently, Porsche is wholly owned by the Volkswagen group, which is controlled by a financial holding company, Porsche SE, through which the Porsche-Piëch family holds an absolute majority of voting rights (about 54%).
Volkswagen said the IPO would mark an important step in the transformation of the group. Among the investors are Qatar, Volkswagen said, noting that Doha had committed to take a 4.99% stake in the listed company.
The German manufacturer had unveiled its project at the beginning of the year, on February 24 to be exact, on the first day of the invasion by the Russian army of Ukraine. The economic shocks that followed, especially on the stock markets, had cast doubt on the timing of this IPO.
“This is a key element for the Group, not least because the eventual product would give us more flexibility to further accelerate the transformation,” explained Arno Antlitz, Volkswagen’s CFO, in an internal interview, before adding: “However, a decision has not yet been taken.”
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Featured photo : © Porsche
