FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Investment bank Goldman Sachs and law firm Freshfields are among advisors working on a possible listing of Volkswagen’s luxury unit Porsche AG, Manager Magazin reported on Thursday, without saying where it obtained the information.
The report prompted Volkswagen shares to rise 3% to the top of Frankfurt’s blue-chip DAX index, reflecting hopes that such a move could unlock tens of billions of euros in value hidden under the carmaker’s complex conglomerate structure.
Bank of America, in a note last week, put Porsche’s enterprise value at about 75 billion euros ($87 billion), accounting for more than half that of Volkswagen.
People familiar with the matter had told Reuters in May that the Porsche and Piech families, who control Volkswagen’s largest shareholder Porsche SE, are prepared to take a direct stake in Porsche AG should the luxury carmaker be separately listed.
While sources say that Europe’s largest carmaker continues to work on scenarios for a separation or listing, no decision has been made on whether such a move – which could fetch tens of billions of euros – will happen.
“The Volkswagen Group is constantly reviewing options that serve the development and implementation of the corporate strategy and raise the company’s value,” a Volkswagen spokesperson said, declining to comment further.
Goldman and Freshfields both declined to comment.
Asked about the idea of a Porsche listing, talk of which has surfaced regularly in recent years, Volkswagen Chief Executive Herbert Diess in July said that while the group continued to review its set-up, a planned battery ramp-up was the priority.
($1 = 0.8591 euros)
(Reporting by Christoph Steitz and Jan Schwartz; Editing by Maria Sheahan and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
