Die shares of the sports car manufacturer Porsche started trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Thursday morning at EUR 84. Immediately after the start of trading, they were already above the issue price of EUR 82.50. In early trading, however, the price fluctuated between these two values. The Stuttgart luxury car manufacturer was valued at around 76.5 billion euros for its stock market debut and is therefore considered a hot candidate for the German stock index (DAX).
“We successfully floated Porsche on the stock exchange. Today is a good day for Porsche and for Volkswagen,” said Volkswagen CFO Arno Antlitz shortly before the initial listing. “Porsche is very well positioned to continue its successful strategy and to benefit from more agility and entrepreneurial independence,” he said. Also VW will benefit because the group will have more clout to move forward in the direction of electromobility.”We want to use the funds we have gained for this.”
At 9:15 a.m. sharp, Porsche boss Oliver Blume, who also heads the parent company VW, rang the symbolic stock exchange bell together with his chief financial officer, Lutz Meschke. He thus brings a project over the finish line that whole armies of business lawyers, consultants and investment bankers have been working on for months, the IPO of the sports car manufacturer from Stuttgart.
The issue price was set at EUR 82.50 per share, the upper end of the price range most recently targeted. Trading begins at 84 euros. But then the stock gives way and falls by 1.5 percent in the first few minutes, but shortly afterwards it goes up again. The participants had certainly imagined the signal to be clearer.
“Challenging Environment”
Almost 114 million preferred shares of Porsche come with the initial public offering – English IPO – on the market, even if a large part goes to anchor shareholders such as the Qatar Investment Authority and the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund. The sale of the paper brings in 9.4 billion euros for the parent company VW. In terms of issue volume, it is the largest IPO in Germany since 1996, when Telekom celebrated its debut on the Frankfurt trading floor.
Before the first few minutes of trading, in which those responsible stared spellbound at the price board in view of the fluctuating price, Blume had still been emotional. “A dream come true,” he said. CFO Meschke also emphasized the historical significance of the step. “We have been building sports cars at Porsche for almost 75 years.” Today’s return to the stock market is “an important day” for the company, even though the environment due to the war in Ukraine, the strained supply chains and other global crises is “challenging”. However, Porsche has “repeatedly shown that we are successful in difficult times”.
nervousness beforehand
The hustle and bustle of the Porsche team shows just how nervous we were beforehand. A run was already made on Wednesday. Who has to stand where and when? When is which interview in front of which camera? Even if it is a return to the stock exchange for the company, it is new territory for those responsible today.