BERLIN/HAMBURG (Reuters) -Volkswagen is still exploring a possible initial public offering of its luxury brand Porsche AG as a way to fund its costly shift towards software and electric vehicles, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
Speculation about a Porsche listing, which could be a record-breaking IPO, has surfaced over the year, but no decision has been made due to a complex stakeholder set-up, the sources said, adding it was unclear whether a listing would happen.
Reports about a possible listing of the unit have included estimates of a standalone Porsche AG valuation of between 45 billion and 90 billion euros ($101 billion).
Earlier, Handelsblatt reported that the Porsche and Piech families, who control Volkswagen’s largest shareholder Porsche SE, are considering selling part of their VW stake to fund a substantial stake purchase in a possible Porsche IPO.
The families, who own 31.4% of Volkswagen shares and have 53.3% of voting rights via Porsche SE, could sell enough shares to raise roughly 15 billion euros, the German newspaper said.
They would remain the largest shareholder in Volkswagen, Handelsblatt added, ahead of the state of Lower Saxony, which holds a 11.8% equity stake and 20% of voting rights.
Porsche SE called the report “pure speculation”, without giving further comment. Volkswagen declined to comment.
Volkswagen preference shares, which have fallen significantly in recent weeks due to a leadership tussle, closed up 8.6% at the top of Germany’s benchmark DAX index.
Porsche SE shares closed 8.5% higher.
People familiar with the matter told Reuters in May that the families were prepared to take a direct stake in Porsche https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/porsche-piech-families-weigh-direct-stake-possible-porsche-ipo-sources-2021-05-31 AG should the luxury carmaker be separately listed.
Such a move would loosen the grip of the families on Europe’s largest carmaker Volkswagen, in favour of direct ownership of the sports car brand founded by their ancestor Ferdinand Porsche, which dates back to 1931.
Asked about a potential listing of Porsche in October, Chief Executive Herbert Diess said that Volkswagen was constantly reviewing its portfolio, but gave no further comment.
Diess will probably stay on as VW CEO although he will cede some responsibilities after a clash with labour leaders, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters.
($1 = 0.8894 euros)
(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Ilona Wissenbach, Jan Schwartz, Pamela Barbaglia and Christoph Steitz; Editing by Madeline Chambers and Alexander Smith)
