There’s been plenty of rumors and talk, but now it’s really happening.
If you’ve always dreamed of owning shares in Porsche, one of the most storied brands which didn’t exist before WWII, you’re in luck. The German automaker’s official initial public offering has been revealed, and as expected the whole arrangement is a bit complicated. Honestly, nothing which happens in the German automotive industry is simple, especially in Volkswagen Group, which could easily have been inspiration for George R. R. Martin as he wrote A Game of Thrones.
See grandma’s secret supercar stash here.
Without getting into all the gritty details, which you can read about at the link located below, the basic gist is Volkswagen will still be in control of Porsche, at least for now. The automaker will keep 75% minus one share of Porsche’s voting shares. As for the remaining 25% of the voting shares, those will be retained by Porsche SE. There were rumors the Porsche family had muscled VW out of control of the brand, but those apparently were unfounded.
That means if you jump on this IPO you won’t be able to vote on any measures, but instead will be purchasing preferred shares. That means you get rights to dividends but no ownership of Porsche. Some will still think that’s a great deal, thanks in no small part to the brand’s savvy moves in the past two decades.
Shares will go on sale September 29. The prices will set a value for Porsche at somewhere between 70 billion and 75 billion euros. VW stands to raise between 18.1 billion and 19.5 billion euros through the sale, providing funding the automaker desperately needs if it wants to follow through with its electrification strategy.
Everything isn’t sunshine and roses with this IPO. In case you haven’t been watching, the European markets are in turmoil, more than the NYSE which has been enjoying its fair share of volatility lately, so investing in Porsche for the short term could prove risky. That could explain why the official announcement of this IPO brought about a dip in Volkswagen stock prices, something the automaker probably wasn’t expecting. Investors are going to be watching this move closely.
Read more about the Porsche IPO details here.
Images via Porsche
