Porsche is no longer only one of the most coveted brands by motor lovers, now it will also be one for its stock market value. The German company has gone public with an initial offer of shares worth 82.5 euros per title. With a strong response from investors, Volkswagen Group CFO Arno Antlitz has stated that this option could be followed by other subsidiaries of the business conglomerate. Specifically, Antlitz has referred to PowerCo, his battery company that was founded just a few months ago.yes
The strong injection that the IPO represents is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it provides large amounts of money for the company, but on the other, it forces you to meet the expectations of the markets in order to keep stock values healthy. Porsche has long considered the action, but has long faced reluctance from the Group’s top leadership. After the first steps in the public era of the company, Volkswagen has seen the possibility of entering other of its companies.
Last July Volkswagen founded the company PowerCo. Quite discreetly, new company will be in charge of managing the parallel battery business for all the group’s brands. As we have already told you, Volkswagen plans to build up to six battery production plants in Europe over the next few years. The first of these plants is already being built in the town of Salzgitter, Germany, which is where the headquarters of the new management company will be located. In the immediate future, Volkswagen will build plants in strategic locations such as Sagunto, Valencia.
With an investment of more than 20,000 million euros, PowerCo hopes to establish itself as one of the key companies within the group, although it is now thinking of raising more capital with a possible IPO. The statements have been made by the financial director of the Volkswagen Group, Arno Antlitz: “We are not ruling out an initial public offering of the battery unit, but the financial flexibility we gain today allows us to further strengthen our work in batteries. After that time we could consider adding strategic partners later.”
Antlitz himself has ruled out that the next group company to go public will be Audi. After the start of the Porsche proposal, many took for granted that those from Ingolstadt would be the next to go out on the pitch, but this has been completely ruled out. Volkswagen does not want to lose control of one of the companies that give the conglomerate the most profitability. To reaffirm this position, the financial director has made it clear: “The next objective is strategic associations or a possible IPO of the battery unit. I can’t say more for now.”
