Ukraine could affect Porsche IPO plan, top VW shareholder says

BERLIN (Reuters) -Top Volkswagen shareholder Porsche SE supports plans to list luxury sportscar maker Porsche AG but the conflict in Ukraine could affect the timing of the proposed IPO, the holding company said on Tuesday.

Volkswagen aims to conduct the Porsche initial public offering (IPO) in the fourth quarter of 2022, though that may change if the conflict in Ukraine drags on, Porsche SE’s finance chief said.

“We cannot rule out, if the conflict lasts a longer time, that this could have potential implications on the listing,” Johannes Lattwein told a news conference, without elaborating on how it would affect plans.

No final decision has been made on the proposed IPO, the company said.

A framework agreement for the listing proposed by Volkswagen in February includes selling 25% plus 1 ordinary share in the carmaker to Porsche SE as well as listing up to 25% of Porsche AG’s preferred stock.

Some 49% of the IPO proceeds would be paid out to Volkswagen’s shareholders as a special dividend.

“Porsche SE thereby supports the plans of Volkswagen AG to expand its financial flexibility and accelerate the technological transformation of the group,” Porsche SE said in a statement reporting its annual results.

“Due to the leading positioning of Porsche AG in the sport and luxury segment, this attractive investment would diversify our portfolio and our dividend inflows,” Lattwein said.

Porsche Automobil Holding SE, which is controlled by the Porsche and Piech families and holds a 31.4% equity stake in Volkswagen, has no plans to reduce its stake in the German carmaker, Poetsch said.

The IPO would also not impact the composition of the Volkswagen supervisory board.

Porsche SE reported a 2021 group result after tax of 4.6 billion euros ($5.06 billion). It forecast group results after tax in 2022 at between 4.1 billion and 6.1 billion euros, not including the impact of the possible Porsche IPO.

($1 = 0.9099 euros)

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Jan Schwartz; editing by Miranda Murray and Jason Neely)