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At Porsche’s annual conference on Friday, finance director Lutz Meschke said that the Porsche AMG subsidiary was open to the idea of a possible IPO, stating that the benefits of such a move had been outlined.
He said that the logic of a possible IPO remained compelling and that the sale of Porsche shares would not jeopardise Volkswagen’s plans to exploit cost synergies within the group.
“The decision has to be made by Volkswagen’s management and supervisory board. We have already discussed extensively the benefits of such an IPO or listing,” he added.
Back in 2018, the CFO had already spoken about the benefits of a possible IPO, saying that such a deal would unlock value and replicate the successful share sale of Ferrari years earlier. At the time Meschke said that Porsche could be worth up to 70 billion euros. However, Volkswagen did not support the proposal.
He also said that in the event of a listing, Porsche AG shareholders would naturally expect to receive a dividend. This would allow Volkswagen to continue to participate in the success of the car manufacturer.
Porsche CEO Oliver Blume said he would be willing to consider an IPO for the subsidiary if the parent company Volkswagen Group decided to do so.
“I think Porsche could be an interesting element to consider an IPO,” he said in a meeting with US journalists, but said the final decision would not be his. “We have to give back to Volkswagen and they haven’t decided anything.”
A Porsche listing has long been seen as a boost to Volkswagen’s stock market valuation as well as a help in catching up with the likes of Toyota and Tesla.
Faced with tens of billions of dollars in costs for a radical shift to electric mobility and software, the company is in discussions with advisers to study the benefits of a possible Porsche listing, according to reports last month.
Volkswagen CEO Herbert Diess dismissed the idea last week, saying the carmaker had no “immediate need” to raise money for its costly push into electric cars, batteries and software. The German group, which owns 12 car brands, has enough cash to fund the transition, he said.
And Bugatti?
Meschke said he saw “some likelihood” of a collaboration between Volkswagen’s Bugatti brand and Rimac Automobili, the Croatian manufacturer of electric hypercars in which Porsche has a 24% stake.
The collaboration would give Rimac access to Bugatti’s brand, customers and dealer network, while the French brand would move towards electrification, he said.
Diess said the group’s goal was to transfer responsibility for Bugatti to Porsche, adding that Porsche would most likely form a joint venture with Rimac involving Bugatti and would eventually take a minority stake.
Read also > FINANCE : PORSCHE INCREASES ITS CAPITAL IN THE CROATIAN MANUFACTURER RIMAC FROM 15 TO 24 %
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