Volkswagen adds more banks to Porsche sports car IPO

Volkswagen AG has added a slew of additional underwriters as it pushes ahead with the planned initial public offering of its Porsche sports car unit, people with knowledge of the matter said.

BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG and Morgan Stanley were selected as senior joint bookrunners, the people said. Barclays Plc, Banco Santander SA, Societe Generale SA and UniCredit SpA will work on the deal as regular bookrunners, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is private.

Commerzbank AG, Credit Agricole SA, LBBW and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. were picked for junior roles as co-lead managers of the offering, according to the people. The IPO, poised to be one of Germany’s biggest-ever listings, could value Porsche at as much as 90 billion euros ($91.5 billion), Bloomberg News has previously reported.

Porsche has been holding early meetings with fund managers in recent weeks, the people said. It is considering launching the offering as soon as September, with an aim to list in October at the earliest, the people said.

Bloomberg News reported earlier that Volkswagen had chosen Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Bank of America Corp., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc. as the joint global coordinators leading the Porsche share sale.

Deutsche Bank’s selection as a senior bookrunner could be seen as a consolation prize after it failed to secure one of the seniormost spots on the transaction. Volkswagen snubbed European banks and picked all American firms for the top positions on the deal, people with knowledge of the matter have said.

Volkswagen has so far stuck to its timeline of a fourth-quarter listing for Porsche, even as difficult market conditions cause other stock offerings to be postponed. Last month, Eni SpA delayed the IPO of its multibillion-dollar renewable arm. Coca-Cola Co.’s African bottling unit and ABB Ltd.’s electric-car charging business have also put off planned listings, as the war in Ukraine and a worsening economic outlook hurt investor confidence.

Spokespeople for Volkswagen, Porsche and the banks declined to comment or didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

–With assistance from Eyk Henning (Bloomberg)