Berlin, Sept. 3 (BUS): Volkswagen’s (VOWG_p.DE) boards and supervisors will meet on Monday to discuss whether the long-awaited roster for the sports car brand Porsche should go ahead in late September or early October. Saturday.
According to Reuters, a decision will also be made on whether Volkswagen will agree to sell a 25% plus one share of common stock in Porsche AG to Porsche SE, as stipulated in a framework agreement between the two parties in February.
That would give the Porsche and Beech families, who control the Porsche SE, a crippled minority – a move that would cement their push for greater control of the automaker founded by their predecessor Ferdinand Porsche in 1931.
Porsche SE, which owns 31.4% of Volkswagen and holds 53.3% of the voting rights, confirmed Monday’s meeting in a separate statement, adding that the launch of the listing was still subject to market developments and board discussions.
Under the framework agreement reached in February, 25% of the preferred shares will be sold on the open market, which is only 12.5% of the total share capital of Porsche.
Even that could raise as much as 10.6 billion euros ($10.55 billion) if the brand’s valuation reaches the upper end of investor estimates at around 85 billion euros, according to Reuters calculations.
That would make the listing among the largest in German history and the largest in Europe since Enel SpA in 1999, according to Refinitiv data.
The common stock, which will be owned exclusively by Volkswagen and Porsche SE under the plans, will not be publicly listed.
Some investors have questioned the timing of a stock market debut that would test the appeal of Europe’s largest carmaker at a time when valuations of leading companies have shrunk amid war instability and record energy costs.
“It is becoming increasingly clear that shareholder families are putting their interests first,” said Henrik Schmidt, a governance expert at DWS, an investor in Volkswagen.
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