Floating stallion

An Initial Public Offering (IPO) for Ferrari on the Hong Kong stock exchange could net Fiat as much as US $6.3 billion.

As reported by global news agency Reuters, Fiat has been approached by investment banks recently with a proposal the car company float its iconic sports car arm, Ferrari. The banks have suggested that the funds raised from the IPO could neutralise much of Fiat's current debt, valued at around US $7.2 billion. It might also bolster the company's sharemarket value.

An anonymous source told Reuters that Fiat is undecided, but Automotive News Europe, covering the news, reported that Fiat had first considered an IPO for Ferrari last year, but CEO Sergio Marchionne had poured cold water on the idea in recent months.  Despite allegations that Marchionne was backing away from the float, four different sources have told Reuters that Fiat is still in talks with the interested parties.

One of the sources was a banker who had already met with Fiat to discuss the matter. The unidentified person was reported to have said to the news organisation: "It's more real than you'd think."

If Hong Kong seems an unlikely place to list Ferrari, it has been the most popular location for IPOs over the past two years, according to Automotive News Europe. The tiny island — one of two [economic] systems for the one country, China — remains locked in combat with another tiny nation, Singapore, for domination of share trading in the Asia-Pacific region.

According to Reuters and Automotive News, the value of US $6.3 billion placed on the float is roughly equivalent to €4.4 billion — almost €1 billion more than current estimates of the company's worth.

Ferrari has reported that China is a booming market for its high-end automotive products and the Asian nation will be in a position to challenge the USA as Ferrari's largest market within a few years.

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