Porsche on September 29 completed the largest German initial public offering (IPO) since 1996 as the company issued shares worth 9.4 billion euros (9.1 billion U.S. dollars).
Article continues below
"Today, a big dream comes true for us. With the completion of the IPO, we are beginning a new chapter in the unique history of our company," Oliver Blume, chairman of the Executive Board of Porsche AG, said on Thursday.
With a market capitalization of around 78 billion euros, Porsche's IPO is also the largest ever carried out in Europe, according to the company. Among German carmakers, Porsche's evaluation now is similar to that of Mercedes and only second to that of Volkswagen.
Shares of Porsche AG - not to be confused with holding company Porsche SE that controls a voting majority in the country's largest carmaker Volkswagen - were successfully issued at 82.50 euros and slightly edged up to around 84.50 euros by midday trading.
With the IPO, Porsche was "shifting up a gear" and set ambitious goals as it is aiming for more than 80 percent of new cars delivered in 2030 to be battery electric vehicles (BEVs).
"Our increased degree of autonomy puts us in a very good position to implement our ambitious goals in the coming years," Blume said, adding that "we aim to redefine the concept of modern luxury by combining luxury with sustainability and social commitment."
In 2021, Porsche delivered around 302,000 vehicles to customers worldwide, an increase of 11 percent year-on-year, registering the "strongest delivery result in the company's history."
China remained the largest single market for Porsche, increasing deliveries by 8 percent. For 2022, Porsche expects to increase total sales revenue to between 38 billion euros and 39 billion euros.
The IPO comes at a time when the number of IPOs worldwide is declining after a record year 2021, according to consulting firm Ernst & Young. The total issue volume in the third quarter (Q3) fell by 56 percent year-on-year to around 51 billion U.S. dollars. ■