Volkswagen wants 75 billion euro valuation in blockbuster Porsche IPO

Volkswagen revealed on Sunday that it aims to value premium sports car maker Porsche at up to 75 billion euros ($75,1 billion) in what will be Germany's second-largest initial public offering (IPO) in history.

Volkswagen (ETR:VOWG p) will price preferred shares in the float of Porsche AG between 76.50 and 82.20 euros per share, the manufacturer revealed, which corresponds to a valuation between 70 billion and 75 billion euros.

At the upper end of the range previously reported by Reuters, according to Refinitiv figures, it would be the third largest IPO in Europe's history. Volkswagen said that trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange will resume on September 29.

In conjunction with the IPO, 911,000,000 Porsche AG shares will be divided into 455.5,000,000 preferred shares and 455.5,000,000 common shares. During the IPO, investors will get up to 113,875,000 shares of preferred stock without voting rights.

Volkswagen stated that sovereign wealth funds from Qatar, Abu Dhabi, and Norway, along with mutual fund company T. Rowe Price, will purchase up to 3.68 billion euros in preferred shares as cornerstone investors.

Volkswagen's Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer, Arno Antlitz, commented, "We are in the final stages of planning Porsche's initial public offering, and we appreciate the commitment of our cornerstone investors."

Porsche SE will obtain 25% plus one ordinary share in the sports car brand, which do carry voting rights, for the price of the preferred shares plus a 7.5% premium.

According to a second release, Porsche SE, the holding firm controlled by the Porsche and Piech families, would finance the acquisition of the ordinary shares with up to 7.9 billion euros in borrowed cash.

Between 18,1 and 19,5 billion euros will be realized from the transaction. Volkswagen will propose distributing 49% of total profits as a special dividend to shareholders in early 2023 if the IPO is successful, and will host an extraordinary shareholder meeting in December.

On Monday, following the release of a stock market prospectus, institutional and individual investors will be able to subscribe for Porsche shares.