Volkswagen will price preferred shares in the Porsche AG flotation at a price of 76.50 euros to 82.50 euros per share, the carmaker said, translating to a value of 70 billion to 75 billion euros.
The top-end deal, first reported by Reuters, would be the third-largest IPO in Europe, according to Refinitiv data. Trading will begin on September 29 on the Frankfurt stock exchange, Volkswagen said.
As part of the listing, 911 million Porsche AG shares will be divided into 455.5 million preferred shares and 455.5 million ordinary shares. Up to 113,875,000 preferred shares, with no voting rights, will be placed with investors during the IPO period.
The sovereign wealth funds of Qatar, Abu Dhabi and Norway, as well as mutual fund company T. Rowe Price, will sign up as cornerstone investors for preferred shares worth up to 3.68 billion euros at the upper end of the valuation, Volkswagen said.
“We are now in the process of planning an IPO at Porsche and welcome the commitment of our cornerstone investors,” said Arno Antlitz, Volkswagen’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer.
Under an agreement Volkswagen reached with major shareholder Porsche SE in early September, 25% and one ordinary share in the sports car brand, which carry voting rights, will go to Porsche SE via preferred shares and a 7.5% premium.
Porsche SE, a company controlled by the Porsche and Piech families, will finance the acquisition of ordinary shares in debt capital of up to 7.9 billion euros, he said.
Total proceeds from the sale will be between 18.1 billion and 19.5 billion euros. If the IPO goes ahead, Volkswagen will call an extraordinary shareholder meeting in December, proposing to pay 49 percent of its total earnings to shareholders as a special dividend in early 2023.
The stock exchange prospectus is expected to be published on Monday, after which institutional and private investors can subscribe to Porsche shares.
