Ferrari gears up for float
ITALIAN car giant Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is planning to spin off its Ferrari sports car maker in a stock market listing to bankroll its turnaround drive.
It plans to float a 10th of Ferrari in New York and on a European exchange, possibly London, to fund a £37.9billion bid to combat rivals such as Toyota and VW. About 80 per cent would go to FCA shareholders, who include Fiat’s founding Agnelli family.
It is proper to pursue separate paths for FCA and Ferrari
Ferrari could have a market value of between £4billion and £4.6billion, according to brokers.
Piero Ferrari, the Ferrari group’s vice-chairman and son of its founder Enzo Ferrari, owns the other 10 per cent of the luxury marque.
FCA also plans to issue £1.5billion in bonds to finance a balance sheet restructuring as it battles European losses and weakening Latin American markets. Its third quarter operating profit rose 7 per cent to £731.8million but has debts of £9billion.
Sergio Marchionne, FCA chief executive, said: “As we move to secure the 2014-2018 business plan and work to maximise the shareholder value, it is proper to pursue separate paths for FCA and Ferrari.”