Porsche IPO Update: What happened after?

On Thursday, September 29, Porsche AG completed its IPO (initial public offering) in Frankfurt. This happened only seven months after the announcement of the company's primary owner -Volkswagen AG- in February 2022 regarding a possible listing of Porsche AG.

The game plan was devised to include the following:

● The share capital of Porsche AG is split into 50% regular shares and 50% non-voting preference shares.

● Volkswagen AG keeps 75% of the regular shares.

● Volkswagen AG also keeps 75% of the non-voting preference shares

● Porsche SE -a second owner of Porsche AG- obtaining 25% of the regular shares.

● During the IPO, 25% of the preference shares (which is equal to 12.5% of the share capital) will be put up for sale.

● The Qatar Investment Authority's (QI) commitment to buying 4.99% of the preference shares leaves an additional 20.01% of the preference shares in the hands of public investors (10% of the share capital).

Following these decisions, Porsche AG sold 113,875 shares at 82.5 euros -the upper limit of the price range- as part of the preliminary offering. This raised the estimated value of the company to 75 billion euros.

Valuation

Porsche AG kicked off its IPO with a valuation of 75.2 billion euros as a public company. It pushed ahead with an offer price set at 82.50 euros, which was the top end of its target range; 76.50 euros to 82.50 euros.

On September 29 and a few hours into trading, the share price climbed to 84 euros on the Frankfurt stock exchange.

This increase led to the company generating around 19.5 billion euros (about 9.6 billion euros will go to Volkswagen to fund electrification plans) and deeming its IPO the biggest ever in Germany since 1996 but one of the largest in the history of Europe.

The session closed at 82.50 euros after hitting its highest at 86.76 euros.

Volkswagen has announced its plans to use a special dividend for paying out 49% of the listing's total gross proceeds to shareholders in early 2023, while the remaining 51% will be invested in the business.

Assessment

Upon announcing the IPO, Volkswagen disclosed its target valuation of Porsche AG to reach 90 billion euros. However, the deterioration of the market throughout the year caused this estimation to fall.

Granted, some considered this valuation to be too high right from the start. For one, HSBC had valued the company between 44.5 and 56.9 billion weeks before the IPO announcement.

Follow-up

The first two trading days (Thursday, 29 and Friday, September 30) closed flat at 82.50 euros. However, the company's shares dropped below their debut price on the third day of trading, Monday, October 3.

Porsche AG shares' price fell 1.8% below the initial IPO pricing to reach 81 euros. 82.50 euros. This goes in line with the drop in the Euro Stoxx 50 Index.

The information in this article is well-researched and factual. Still, it contains opinions also, and IT IS NOT FINANCIAL ADVICE and should not be interpreted as such, do not make any financial decisions based on the information in this article; we are not financial advisors. We are journalists. You should always consult with a professional before making any investment decisions.