BERLIN – Lower Saxony, Volkswagen’s second largest shareholder, considers the automaker to be undervalued but believes it is growing the battery The state’s prime minister said on Friday the business could boost its value.
As Volkswagen and its largest shareholder Porsche SE is about to list sport car Stephan Weil, the maker of Porsche to raise funds, said he believes the group has potential far beyond its valuation, adding that this is not the time to consider raising capital. Weil said on the sidelines of his campaign: “Volkswagen has incredible potential… there is a lot of evidence that its activities around batteries will increase the value of the group in a sustainable way.
Lower Saxony, where Volkswagen’s global headquarters are located, owns 11.8% of Volkswagen shares and controls 20% of the voting rights.
Volkswagen’s market capitalization surpassed 100 billion euros ($99.89 billion) in March 2021 as the carmaker set ambitious electrification targets, but fell to 82.9 billion euros in the context of Europe’s sharper decline this year.
Former chief executive Herbert Diess said in December he expected the carmaker’s burgeoning battery division, which plans to build six plants in Europe and two in North America, to generate sales. revenue of 20 billion euros by 2030.
Weil said conversations so far about the listing of Porsche AG, which could be activated as soon as next week, have been going smoothly so far, Weil said, adding that the state remains committed to its stake in the Volkswagen Group.
Investors estimate Porsche alone could be valued between 60-85 billion euros in the event of a listing, although some argue that unfavorable market conditions mean it could lower wing at the lower end of that range.
Qatar, the next major shareholder after Lower Saxony with a 10.5% stake, will also become a strategic investor in Porsche AG’s preferred stock in the event of an IPO, Volkswagen said in February.
(Reporting by Andreas Rinke, Writing by Victoria Waldersee. Editing by Paul Carrel and Nick Zieminski)
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