Porsche is brushing aside worries about the global economy and gloomy predictions about share prices and is preparing to hit the stock market this September. And sources close to matter claim Porsche is targeting a valuation of between €60 billion and €85 billion ($60-85 billion).
Anonymous insiders told Bloomberg that Porsche will announce plans for its Initial Public Offering (IPO) following a supervisory board sign-off, and say the automaker has already received more pre-orders for shares than there are shares available.
Marquee names in the investing world ready to reach into their pockets for a stake in Porsche include T Rowe Price Group and Qatar Investment Authority, says Bloomberg, which claims the founder of energy drink maker Red Bull, Dietrich Mateschitz, has also expressed interest, as has Bernard Arnault, boss of LVMH, the group behind brands like Dior, Fendi, Moët and Louis Vuitton.
Related: Porsche May Have To Significantly Cut Valuation Expectations For IPO
This booming “shadow” order book is positive news for Porsche and will come as some relief after news earlier this year that some investors were reluctant to jump into the Porsche IPO over concerns about corporate governance. Some high profile U.S. and European asset managers that might normally invest in a brand like Porsche are worried about exactly how much influence Volkswagen has over the carmaker, fears hardly assuaged by the recent appointment of former Porsche boss Oliver Blume as the new VW Group boss.
Under the terms of the IPO, Volkswagen will be the biggest shareholder in Porsche, and investors would be able to buy shares, but those shares won’t carry voting rights. Some potential investors have questioned Porsche’s luxury credentials, while others are simply being cautious about IPOs due to the instability in the market attribute to the conflict in Ukraine and rampant inflation.
Porsche will be hoping it fares better than Polestar, whose IPO earlier this year was much-hyped. The company performed well on its first day of trading but share prices dropped markedly the following week.