Porsche, the iconic sports car company owned by Volkswagen (VW), has announced that it will go public before the end of 2022. Porsche is expected to be valued at between 60 billion and 85 billion euros (approximately $60 billion to $85 billion) in the IPO.
VW Group announced in February that it was considering spinning off Porsche in order to raise funds for investment in key areas such as electric vehicles, self-driving technology, and software development.
VW Group said it hopes to complete the Porsche IPO by late September or early October, with a Frankfurt Stock Exchange listing.
Porsche’s shares will be split 50:50 between preference and ordinary shares as part of the IPO process. The preference shares have no voting rights but pay higher dividends.
Porsche SE, the holding company majority owned by the Porsche and Pich families and the largest shareholder in VW Group, intends to acquire 25% plus one share of the ordinary shares, giving the holding company a blocking minority and sway over any key decisions. Qatar, another major VW Group shareholder, is also expected to buy a significant stake in Porsche.
VW is looking forward to get Sajjad Khan, the former Chief Technology Officer at Mercedes, to join its board, most likely in the same position. VW is hoping Khan will help guide Porsche with the IPO. He left Mercedes a year ago to launch his own venture capital fund, but had previously served as Vice President at BMW.
If the IPO is successful, VW Group may follow up with an IPO of PowerCo, a recently established battery company. It is set up in such a way that a listing next year or in 2024 is possible. PowerCo is in charge of the VW Group’s global battery activities.