Ferrari officially launches IPO, lists on NYSE as RACE ~ All About Ford Mustang

One of the biggest changes to occur in the automobile industry as of recent was the changeover of Ferrari’s ownership through an Initial Public Offering. This is a huge deal because for the first time ever in the Prancing Horse of Italy’s history, Ferrari will be a public company after being privately owned since day one, even under the supervision of Fiat since 1969, when they took a 50% stake in the company.

This of course means a lot of changes will happen to one of the most respected automakers in all of history because when ownership gets divided as such among not only a larger list of investors, but the public as well, there are more entities to control the outcomes of major decisions at the company since the interests become more split rather than confined among a smaller group of controllers.

Such a shift has us purists and automotive enthusiasts worried because this increases the chances of compromising the company’s integrity, in that Ferrari might no longer be able to stand by its core values because more people are involved in the committee to argue and determine the company’s future in terms of the decision-making. This is partially the reason why Ferrari’s standardizing forced-induction, bringing an end to their long-standing history of producing the world’s best, high-performance, naturally-aspirated motors–a characteristic that has long defined the company as a whole and is part of the reason as to what made Ferrari so famous and well-established. This is also partially the reason as to why Ferrari seeks to sell more cars, thus compromising their exclusivity and specialty factor.

According to FCA’s press release and Bloomberg, the IPO will consist of 17,175,000 common shares, valued between $48 and $52 per share and get this: Ferrari’s NYSE ticker is RACE. How fitting…

As part of the terms for the IPO, Enzo Ferrari’s son, Piero Ferrari, will get a 10 percent stake in the company on top of a lovely $318.5 million cash payment. Oh that one percent life…

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FCA Announces Launch of Ferrari Initial Public Offering

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. (NYSE: FCAU / MI: FCA) (“FCA”) and its subsidiary New Business Netherlands N.V. to be renamed Ferrari N.V. (“Ferrari”) announce today that Ferrari has launched its initial public offering (“IPO”). FCA, currently holding a 90 percent of Ferrari’s issued and outstanding share capital, intends to sell 17,175,000 common shares of Ferrari, equal to approximately 9 percent of Ferrari’s common shares pursuant to a registration statement on Form F-1 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). The initial public offering price is currently expected to be between $48 and $52 per share, and the shares will trade under the symbol, “RACE”.

Ferrari has applied to list its common shares on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) FCA expects to grant the underwriters with an option to purchase an aggregate of up to 1,717,150 common shares of Ferrari from FCA, equal to approximately 1 percent of Ferrari’s outstanding common shares. After the IPO, FCA will own 80 percent of Ferrari (if underwriters

exercise their option to purchase additional shares in full). Ferrari is not selling any shares and will not receive any proceeds from the sale of common shares by FCA. This offering is intended to be part of a series of transactions to separate Ferrari from FCA. Following completion of this offering, FCA expects to distribute its remaining 80 percent interest in Ferrari to FCA shareholders at the beginning of 2016.

UBS Investment Bank is acting as Global Coordinator for the offering. UBS Investment Bank and BofA Merrill Lynch are serving as bookrunners and representatives of the underwriters for the offering. Allen & Company LLC, Banco Santander, BNP Paribas, J.P. Morgan and Mediobanca are also acting as bookrunners for the offering. A registration statement, including a prospectus, which is preliminary and subject to completion, relating to these securities has been filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, but has not yet become effective. These securities may not be sold, nor may offers to buy be accepted, prior to the time that the registration statement becomes effective, and, even then, the securities may only be sold pursuant to the registration statement and final prospectus.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. The offering of these securities will be made only by means of a prospectus.

– By: Chris Chin

Source: FCA and Bloomberg