Wednesday, November 10, 2010

Report Says VW Group May Also be Interested in Ferrari Stake...

Having already expressed interest in acquiring Alfa Romeo, the ever-growing Volkswagen Group is now allegedly eyeing a stake in Ferrari - or at least that's what is being reported by the German press. However, whereas with Alfa Romeo, Volkswagen Chairman Ferdinand Piech openly admitted that he would like to buy the Milanese brand, for now, we don't have any official statements on the Ferrari matter.

Taking into consideration that Ferrari has an estimated value between $3.16 billion to $4.82 billion (€2.3 billion and €3.5 billion), and that the VW Group has some $27 billion (€19.6 billion) cash lying around, it's not a question if the Germans can acquire a stake in the famous Italian brand, but if they and of course Fiat, would want to go ahead with such a deal.

For one, being that Ferrari is Fiat's most profitable brand, we don't think that the group's CEO, Sergio Marchionne as well as the shareholders would easily be convinced to sell off the company.

Then there's the problem with the VW Group already having several established sports car brands in its portfolio including, Lamborghini, Bugatti and more recently, Porsche. Adding Ferrari to the blend, would make it an "overlapping-overkill"...

Nevertheless, the reports go on to say that according to rumors, Fiat may soon sell some Ferrari shares in an initial public offering while keeping a controlling 51 percent stake, and that Piech would be satisfied even with a small stake in the Prancing Horse automaker.

If you have any thoughts on the matter, scroll down to the comments section to share.


Via: Autoweek