Porsche Turbocharges Hope of IPO Rebound in Europe

Porsche Turbocharges Hope of IPO Rebound in Europe

Hi, it’s Eyk Henning in Frankfurt. In today’s newsletter, there’s some cautious optimism in Europe’s IPO market as it awaits Porsche’s landmark listing. Elsewhere, CVS wins the race for Signify and UBS leaves analysts scratching their heads.

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Volkswagen’s decision to push ahead with an initial public offering of its sports-car marque Porsche is set to more than double Europe’s IPO haul for 2022 in one swoop. While it might be too soon to expect the tally to move much higher after the deal is done, it’s stirring hopes of a listings revival.

IPOs have raised only $10 billion on European exchanges in 2022, putting the market on course for one of its worst years on record, Bloomberg data show. Porsche’s Frankfurt IPO, penciled in for later this month or next, will change that, with VW seeking to sell a minority stake that’ll value the maker of iconic models like the 911 Turbo S at as much as 85 billion euros.

The timing does seem a tad bold, given that everything from interest rate hikes to a global energy crisis are conspiring to keep stock markets on a downward trajectory and, consequently, companies wary of going public. Nevertheless, plenty of bankers we’ve