Volkswagen is still considering listing its luxury sports car brand PorscheAccording to reports, because it hopes to raise funds for the costly transformation of electric vehicles.
Porsche’s valuation as an independent company is between 45 billion and 90 billion euros (38 billion to 77 billion pounds).
The source told Reuters that speculations about Porsche’s record listing have surfaced in the past year, but due to the complexity of stakeholder settings, no decision has been made, adding that it is unclear whether it will be listed.
Earlier, the German business newspaper Handelsblatt reported that the Porsche and Piech families, which control Volkswagen’s largest shareholder Porsche SE, are considering selling some of the Volkswagen shares to provide substantial equity for a possible Porsche IPO.
The German newspaper stated that these families own 31.4% of Volkswagen’s shares and 53.3% of the voting rights through Porsche SE, which can sell enough shares to raise approximately 15 billion euros.
Handelsblatt added that they will remain Volkswagen’s largest shareholder, ahead of Lower Saxony, which holds 11.8% of the shares and 20% of the voting rights.
Porsche SE called the report “pure speculation” but did not comment further. Volkswagen declined to comment.
Due to the leadership battle, Volkswagen’s preferred stock has fallen sharply in recent weeks and closed up 8.6%, at the top of the German benchmark DAX index. Porsche SE shares closed up 8.5%.
The proposed ownership reorganization would loosen the Porsche and Piëch family’s control of Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, and instead directly own the sports car brand founded by their ancestor Ferdinand Porsche, which dates back to 1931.
When asked about the possibility of Porsche going public in October, its chief executive Herbert Diess said that Volkswagen has been reviewing its portfolio, but did not comment further.
Two people familiar with the matter told Reuters that Diss may continue to serve as the CEO of Volkswagen, but he will give up some of his duties after a conflict with labor leaders.
