Porsche valued ahead of IPO

Porsche’s imminent IPO will be Germany’s second-largest ever, with a valuation between €87.1 billion and €93.9 billion ($129.75 to $139.87 billion).

Volkswagen AG will offer shares in Porsche AG between September 20 and 28, priced between €76.50 and €82.50 ($114 to $123) per share. The shares will list and begin trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on September 29.

The company has been divided into 911 million shares, of which 50 per cent are preferred non-voting shares.

Up to 25 per cent of those preferred shares (equal to 12.5 per cent of the company) will be offered to investors in Germany, Austria, France, Italy, Spain, and Switzerland as part of the IPO, while some shares will be sold through private placements.

The Qatar Investment Authority has committed to buy 4.99 per cent of the preferred shares as a cornerstone investor (worth up to €1.88b).

Other cornerstone investors include Norges Bank Investment Management (€750 million), T. Rowe Price (€750m), and ADQ (€300m).

The Porsche-Piech family – through Porsche Automobil Holding SE – will acquire 25 per cent plus one of Porsche’s ordinary voting stock, giving the Porsche-Piech clan a blocking minority stake in their namesake marque.

Porsche has previously said the IPO is designed to “unleash its full potential” by leveraging its:

• “Iconic brand and racing heritage”
• “Structural growth environment”
• “Superior customer experience”
• “Innovative battery electric vehicle technologies”
• “Commitment to sustainable luxury”
• “People-centric performance culture”
• “Compelling financial performance”

It will spell the end of the current profit and loss transfer agreement between Volkswagen AG and Porsche, but won’t represent the end of their “successful cooperation”.

Porsche is aiming for more than 80 per cent of its delivered cars in 2030 to be BEVs. It also hopes to have a net carbon neutral value chain in 2030.

The German automaker is anticipating its future customers will be younger and come from more diverse backgrounds. It’s also expecting the proportion of female customers to increase.

Porsche will follow in the footsteps of Ferrari (listed in 2015) and Polestar (listed earlier this year) when it IPOs.