luxury supercar brand Porsche (Porsche ) officially launched its launch plan.
On the evening of September 5th local time, global automobile giant Volkswagen AG announced that it will promote its sports car brand Porsche to be listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange in Germany, which is expected to be at the end of September or early October. However, Volkswagen Group emphasized that this also depends on the trends of the capital market. If
is successfully listed, it will be one of the largest IPOs in the world in history.
According to Reuters , investors have given a valuation of 60 billion to 85 billion euros (about 414.4 billion to 587.1 billion yuan) to the Porsche brand. This means that the IPO may raise more than 10 billion euros, and if the private placement is added, the fundraising will exceed 20 billion euros.
The British " Financial Times " said that at a valuation of 85 billion euros, Porsche's IPO would overshadow the 13 billion US dollar listing scale of Deutsche in 1996, which was the largest IPO in Europe at that time.
According to Bloomberg's previous report, 25% of preferred shares will be sold on the open market, equivalent to 12.5% of the total capital of the Porsche brand, according to the framework agreement reached by Volkswagen Group and Porsche Holdings in February. Meanwhile, common shares exclusively held by Volkswagen and Porsche Holdings will not be listed publicly.
Based on this calculation, this Porsche IPO will raise 10.625 billion euros (approximately RMB 73.4 billion).
Porsche model, from the official website.
Porsche Holdings will have more say
Porsche Automobile (Porsche AG) is affiliated to the Volkswagen Group and is responsible for the production and design of Porsche Automobile. It is headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. In addition to Porsche, Volkswagen Group also has brands such as Volkswagen, Audi , Bentley , Bugatti and other brands.
Volkswagen AG is a subsidiary of Porsche Holdings (Porsche SE). Porsche Holdings holds 31.4% of Volkswagen Group and holds 53.3% of the voting rights.
Porsche Holdings’ full name is Porsche Automobil Holding SE (Porsche Automobil Holding SE), and its main shares are held by the Porsche and Piech families. " Wall Street Journal " said that Porsche Holdings is an investment fund , and has almost no assets except the Volkswagen it holds. Porsche Holdings once owned the Porsche car brand, but lost direct control in the 2008 sky squeeze, and short squeeze made Volkswagen briefly the world's highest market value company. Porsche Holdings has made it clear that it hopes to retake the Porsche brand.
Volkswagen Group stated in the announcement that during the preparation stage, the shares of the Porsche brand have been divided into 50% of the preferred shares (no voting rights) and 50% of the common shares (with voting rights). As part of the IPO, the Porsche brand will place up to 25% of preferred shares to investors in the Volkswagen Group.
At the same time, Porsche Holdings will acquire 25% of the Porsche brand plus 1 voting common stock at the allotment price of the preferred shares plus a 7.5% premium.
This will allow the Porsche-Piech family (owner of Porsche Holdings) to acquire a minority stake and have a veto in strategic decision-making. Analysts believe that according to this agreement, Porsche Holdings will have a higher influence on the Porsche brand in the future.
It is reported that Ferdinand Porsche, the ancestor of the Piech family, founded Porsche in 1931. For years, Porsche Holdings has tried to fully control the Volkswagen Group and gain more say.
Ferdinand Porsche, from the official website.
Felley Porsche (middle) is the son of Ferdinand Porsche, from the official website.
analyst: Porsche's market value may be difficult to convert into the share price of Volkswagen Group
Analysts believe that Volkswagen Group and Porsche Holdings have considerable differences over the Porsche IPO. Porsche Holdings is trying to seek more control, while Volkswagen Group hopes to increase its stock price. Volkswagen Group's stock price is underperforming in the European market, and it is more likely that Porsche will go public to increase its market value and provide funding for its transformation to electric vehicle .
But analysts at investment bank Jefferies believe that "it cannot guarantee that (Porsche) market value will be converted into the stock price of Volkswagen Group unless Volkswagen Group solves the structural problem of the complexity of its brands/products."
Volkswagen Group has many brands, and its huge structure has always been regarded by analysts as a factor that drags down the group's market value.
In addition, some investors questioned that under the uncertainty caused by the escalation of the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, this listing will be a test for Porsche's attractiveness. Henrik Schmidt, a corporate management expert at Volkswagen investor and asset management giant DWS, said: "It is becoming increasingly obvious now that the shareholder family is putting their interests first."
However, the Porsche IPO has attracted the attention of many investors.
Bloomberg reported that big-name investors, including T. Rowe Price, have expressed interest in subscribing within the valuation range. Volkswagen Group said that Qatar Investment Bureau has planned to purchase 4.99% of preferred shares, including Dietrich Mateschitz, the founder of energy drink maker Red Bull , and Bernard Arnult, the chairman of LVMH Group , all showing interest.
According to the financial data of the first half of 2022 released by the Porsche brand, its operating income in the first half of the year was 17.92 billion euros (approximately RMB 123.4 billion), and increased by 28.5% year-on-year; net profit was 3.48 billion euros (approximately RMB 23.9 billion), an increase of 24.6% year-on-year. In terms of operating profit margin, Volkswagen Group's overall operating profit margin is 10%, its Audi brand is 16.5%, Porsche is 19.4%, Bentley is 23.3%, and the profit margin of Lamborghini is as high as 31.9%. In terms of sales volume of
, Porsche sold 145,900 units in the first half of this year, of which Porsche sold 40,700 units in China.
