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Bloomberg
Volkswagen AG said it will continue to explore an initial public offering of the German manufacturer’s Porsche sportscar brand as markets are roiled by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
A listing could happen at the earliest in the fourth quarter, VW Chief Financial Officer Arno Antlitz said. The plan comes on the heels of the fighting in Ukraine, which has sparked volatility across world markets and concerns of higher energy prices.
Europe’s largest automaker and its majority shareholder Porsche Automobil Holding SE — the billionaire Porsche and Piech family’s main investment vehicle — confirmed they’re in advanced talks about selling shares in the company’s most profitable division. The move would lift VW’s valuation and help fund its shift toward electric cars.
An offering would grant Porsche “greater entrepreneurial freedom†and advance the group’s bid to transform into a vertically-integrated mobility company, VW Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess said during a call with reporters. “This marks an inflection point and the ideal timing for the potential transaction in order to ignite our EV shift momentum.â€
Estimated to value Porsche at as much as 85 billion euros ($95.2 billion) by Bloomberg Intelligence, the move would partly reverse a tumultuous takeover of the Stuttgart-based company more than a decade ago. Going ahead will require walking a tightrope between key shareholders that own almost all of the group’s voting stock and external investors under VW’s complex governance structure.
The actual feasibility of an IPO depends on “several different parameters as well as general market conditions,†VW said in a statement, adding that no final decision has been taken.
The Porsche offering could serve as a blueprint for an IPO of VW’s battery business, a key element of the carmaker’s EV push. VW is open to third-party investment in the division and won’t rule out listing it, Antlitz said.
VW provided more details of a possible Porsche offering. The brand’s share capital would be split 50% between preferred shares, which don’t carry voting rights, and 50% common shares with voting rights.
Volkswagen fears huge loss of cars from ship fire
Bloomberg
Volkswagen AG has lost hope that many of its roughly 4,000 vehicles aboard a cargo ship that caught fire in the Atlantic can be saved.
The automaker’s brands and dealers have started notifying customers that the US-bound vehicles will likely not be delivered, a spokesperson said. “Individual solutions†are being worked out with customers, Volkswagen said.
“We fear that the fire on the ship has damaged a large number†of the vehicles “to such an extent that they can no longer be delivered to customers,†according to the statement. Damage to the vehicles is covered by insurance, the company said.
Cars aboard the Felicity Ace, a cargo ship operated by Mitsui OSK Lines Ltd, were on their way to a port in Rhode Island from Germany’s Port of Emden when a fire broke out off the coast of Portugal’s Azores Islands. The blaze is believed to have lasted more than a week after the Panama-flagged ship’s crewmembers were evacuated and it was left adrift.
Risk-modeling company Russell Group estimated there are $401 million worth of cars on board, and that roughly $155 million of that belongs to the German manufacturer. Anderson Economic Group, a Michigan-based consultant, said a $334.6 million cargo loss was possible.
The cause of the fire remains unclear. VW’s Golf compact cars and ID.4 electric crossovers were among the vehicles aboard the ship, according to an internal email last week from the automaker’s US operation.
