Porsche shares have risen on their first day of trading as the sports carmaker
shrugged off a worsening global economy in a €75bn (£67bn) stock market float,
the largest European listing for more than a decade. The shares were issued at
€82.50 on the Frankfurt stock exchange on Thursday, before rising in value to
€86.30 by late morning. The German carmaker Volkswagen listed 12.5% of
Porsche’s shares to raise the billions of euros needed to invest in electric cars –
as well as hoping the sports car company would be able to match its Italian rival
Ferrari, which has been able to attract a valuation more typical of luxury fashion
brands. The deal raised €19.5bn, about half of which will go to Volkswagen.
Volkswagen intends to pay a dividend using part of the proceeds. Volkswagen
and Porsche have been intertwined since their foundations, when Ferdinand
Porsche founded a car company in the 1930s, before designing the original
“people’s car”. While the companies will be listed separately, they will retain the
same chief executive, Oliver Blume, suggesting there will be little departure in
management style or strategic approach to the electric transition.