Porsche made its stock market debut on Thursday, in one of Europe’s biggest ever public offerings. The IPO, which values the automaker at around 75 billion euros, appears to have been a success despite difficult economic conditions.
The owner of Porsche, Volkswagen, listed a 12.5% stake in the company and investors tripped over each other to get involved. Cornerstone investors had already snapped up 40% of shares on offer prior to trading starting, according to Reuters. The German parent company offered up 911 million shares as a nod to Porsche’s most famous model.
Volskwagen has stated the listing could give Porsche a 19.5 billion euros boost, money which will be put towards electric vehicles, among other things.
Shares in the company initially traded at 84 euros on Thursday morning, after being priced at the top end of their range at 82.50 euros.
The IPO could barely have been launched during a more turbulent and challenging time. European listings are facing their worst year since 2009, amid concerns over the war in Ukraine, soaring inflation, rising interest rates, and a global recession.
Companies in Europe have raised $44 billion from equity capital market deals up to September 27, according to Refinitiv data. Only $4.5 billion of that money raised has come from initial public offerings.
Porsche is unlikely to pave the way for more IPOs in the near future, as companies shy away from the market turmoil. Shares in Volkswagen and holding company Porsche SE fell 4.6% and 8% respectively as investors switched across.
Porsche’s new valuation puts it close to parent company Volkswagen, which stands at around 80.1 billion euros and ahead of competitors such as Ferrari. The IPO was the biggest listing in Germany since Deutsche Telekom in 1996.