Browsing: Autos

Porsche IPO bucks gloomy economic trends

Conventional finance theory will advise that raising capital on the public markets can be an uphill task when an economy is slowing. A booming economy characterized by low-interest rates with increasing growth rates is the most conducive for an equity offering, more so an initial public offering. A further stroke of genius on the part of Volkswagen and Porsche is that the equity offering comprised preference shares.

The preference shares comprise 12.5% of the issued share capital of Porsche.

This is a stroke of genius in the sense that preference shares, by their nature, resemble fixed income security which would be in high demand in the current environment where interest rates are elevated or are on the upward path. The preferred share component of the IPO must have been appealing and contributed to the offering being oversubscribed.

Preference shares are shares that generally carry with them voting rights and accrue …