GThe words with which Oliver Blume opened the short-notice video conference with journalists were just too pathetic. He spoke of a dream from which Porsche was born. ” Fulfilling dreams is what drives us.” Today, with VW’s decision to list Porsche, which the Wolfsburg-based group published late on Monday evening, one of Porsche’s biggest dreams has come true. It was a “historic moment for Porsche,” Blume was quoted as saying in the sports car manufacturer’s press release, which was sent out shortly before midnight.
The Porsche boss, who has also been the boss of Volkswagen for almost a week, is on the side of the sports car manufacturer from Stuttgart, which he has been leading for seven years, when it comes to the issue of the IPO. On the Volkswagen side, CFO Arno Antlitz is responsible for the IPO. He said in a separate conference call on Tuesday morning that there was no time to lose after the decision in principle for the IPO. “We see a great deal of interest from investors and are following the plans at full speed,” said Antlitz, who was also promoted to Chief Operating Officer when Blume took office.
The Porsche CFO Lutz Meschke, who also took part in the Porsche conference and was already at the airport because he wanted to meet “important investors” in London, blew the same trumpet. In view of the bad situation on the financial markets, the managers tried to dispel doubts about the timing of the IPO. The crises of recent years have shown how robust Porsche is, said Blume. “If any company can do that, then it’s Porsche,” Meschke repeated a formulation that he had used again and again in the past few months.
Investor Qatar
With the Qatar Investment Authority, Volkswagen has already landed a large investor. The state fund of the controversial emirate, which already has a stake in the VW Group and also held shares in Porsche a decade ago, is to take over 4.99 percent of the shares. He was “very happy” about his interest, said Meschke. About 20 percent of the preferred shares are still open.
Overall, Volkswagen wants to list a quarter of the preferred shares, which make up half of the share capital in Porsche but do not carry voting rights. The other half consists of ordinary shares, which entitle the holder to vote at the general meeting. VW wants to keep almost 75 percent of it in the future. 25 percent and one share are to be sold to Porsche SE. The holding company of the Porsche and Piëch families, which is also a major shareholder in Volkswagen, would have a blocking minority and would once again have a direct influence on Porsche.
The initial listing, which is also a return of the sports car manufacturer to the stock exchange, is considered the IPO of the year in Europe. According to the latest estimates from the capital market, the valuation of the highly profitable company from Stuttgart could reach between 60 and 85 billion euros. However, none of those involved wanted to comment on the amount, even when asked repeatedly.
Antlitz said the aim was to put the shares in the sports car subsidiary on the open market as early as the end of September or the beginning of October. Due to the volatile environment, Europe’s largest car company is keeping a back door open to postpone the point in time by a few weeks. In any case, the IPO should take place before the end of the year, stressed Antlitz.
