After a successful Porsche IPO: These VW brands could also go public

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• Porsche IPO goes smoothly
• Speculations about further IPOs of VW brands
• At least “virtual” IPOs planned

The Porsche share did not soar, but the IPO of the VW sports car subsidiary went smoothly despite adverse economic and political circumstances and stock market turbulence. Although the accompanying investment banks had to massively support the share price on the days after the IPO, thanks to the good price development that followed, they were able to end these support purchases early.

The Wolfsburg-based company received a gross total of 9.1 billion euros from the sale of 12.5 percent of Porsche shares. This made Porsche the largest German IPO since Telekom in 1996 at the end of September 2022.

Speculations about further IPOs

In view of this success, there is now speculation on the stock exchange as to whether Volkswagen will list more of its ten car, truck and motorcycle brands. Because compared to competitors like Toyota or Tesla, the VW conglomerate is valued quite low. Further IPOs could therefore raise hidden potential, so it is hoped.

A Lamborghini IPO is already being specifically examined, reports “Der Aktionär”. A market value of around 15 billion euros would be conceivable here. But the premium brand AUDI, Bentley or Bugatti are also possible stock market candidates. While such moves may be difficult given the current weakness in the stock market, during the next economic upturn it’s entirely possible that VW could bolster dormant brand equity, the report said.

Fresh capital welcome

“There are hardly any reasons why more brands could not be listed on the stock exchange,” quotes the “Handelsblatt” from industry expert Arndt Ellinghorst from the economic data company Quantco.

Further IPOs could flush fresh funds into the VW coffers, which the Wolfsburg-based company could urgently need to advance its strategy for battery-powered electric vehicles. Because the conversion to a long-term, sustainable provider of electromobility is expensive – for example, around 20 billion euros are to be invested in the planned development of battery cell production with six new plants together with partners, reports “Capital”.

“Virtual” IPOs

In order to better show investors the potential of the group’s subsidiaries, Oliver Blume wants them to prepare “virtual equity stories”, ie they should simulate an IPO. The Porsche and VW boss announced this in an interview with the “Handelsblatt”, fueling speculation that in some cases such an IPO could actually be implemented later.

And Blume is hoping for something else from these test IPOs, namely that the various brands will act less like subsidiaries and more like listed companies under the “virtual” pressure of the capital market. In this way, they should become more efficient, sharpen their respective profiles and increase their performance.

Editorial office finanzen.net

Image sources: Teddy Leung / Shutterstock.com, Bugatti