Volkswagen boards to discuss Porsche listing on Monday

By Victoria Waldersee

BERLIN (Reuters) -Volkswagen’s administration and supervisory boards will meet on Monday to debate whether or not the long-anticipated itemizing of sports activities automobile model Porsche ought to go forward in late September or early October, the carmaker stated on Saturday.

A choice can even be made on whether or not Volkswagen approves of the sale of 25% plus one share of abnormal shares in Porsche AG to Porsche SE, as specified by a framework settlement by the 2 events in February.

That may give the Porsche and Piech households, which management Porsche SE, a blocking minority – a step that may bolster their push for higher management of the carmaker that was based by their ancestor Ferdinand Porsche in 1931.

Porsche SE, which owns 31.4% of Volkswagen and holds 53.3% of voting rights, confirmed Monday’s assembly in a separate assertion, including that the itemizing’s launch was nonetheless topic to market developments and additional board discussions.

Underneath the framework deal https://www.reuters.com/enterprise/autos-transportation/volkswagen-top-shareholder-strike-framework-deal-porsche-ipo-2022-02-24/ reached in February, 25% of desire shares can be bought on the open market, equal to simply 12.5% of Porsche’s complete capital.

Even that might elevate as much as 10.6 billion euros ($10.55 billion) if the model’s valuation reaches the upper finish of investor estimates at about 85 billion euros, in line with Reuters calculations.

That may make the itemizing among the many largest in German historical past and the largest in Europe since Enel SpA in 1999, in line with Refinitiv knowledge.

Peculiar shares, which might be solely owned by Volkswagen and Porsche SE below the plans, wouldn’t be publicly listed.

Some traders have questioned the timing of a inventory market debut that may check the attraction of Europe’s largest automaker at a time when the valuations of main corporations have shrunk amid the instability of battle and file vitality prices.

“It’s turning into more and more clear that the shareholder households are placing their pursuits first,” stated Henrik Schmidt, governance skilled at Volkswagen investor DWS.

($1 = 1.0049 euros)

(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Victoria WalderseeEditing by Helen Popper)