Shares of Porsche made a strong debut on Thursday after Volkswagen defied volatile markets to list the sports car brand at a valuation of 75 billion euros ($72 billion) in Germany’s second-biggest stock market debut.
Volkswagen priced Porsche shares at the upper end of the indicated range and raised 19.5 billion euros from the IPO to finance the group’s electrification push. Porsche papers rose 3% above the issue price of 82.50 euros.
This raised Porsche AG’s valuation to €77.4bn, close to the market capitalization of Volkswagen as a whole, which is worth about €80.1bn, and ahead of rivals such as Ferrari. It is the largest German IPO since Deutsche Telekom in 1996.
In an interview with Reuters, Oliver Blume brushed aside concerns about his dual role as chief executive of Porsche AG and Volkswagen, saying the decision was made “very consciously”.
Porsche AG’s strong debut came despite widespread weakness in stock markets following red-hot German inflation data. Shares in Volkswagen and holding company Porsche, which owns a blocking minority in Porsche AG, fell 4.6% and 8% respectively, as investors favored one or the other.
“This is not exactly a dream environment for an IPO today,” said Thomas Altmann, wealth manager at QC Partners.
Porsche’s IPO comes at a time when European share prices are facing their worst year since 2009, with investors concerned about a possible global recession against a backdrop of rising inflation, rising interest rates and war in Ukraine.
Porsche is a one-time icebreaker for the IPO market, which is set to freeze again very soon, said a banker who was involved in the transaction.
