Porsche officially listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange on Thursday, marking Germany’s biggest IPO offering since 1996, at a valuation of around 78 billion euros.
Porsche shares opened at 84 euros, before falling sharply, trading for the rest of the day at 59.56 euros and 64 euros, before ending the day at 60.48 euros per share.
Global market turmoil was blamed for the stock’s nearly 30 percent drop on the day, despite being closely tied to its parent company Volkswagen Group, which remains Porsche’s main owner.
New shareholders include the Qatar Investment Authority, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Norway’s sovereign wealth fund and investment banks including T Rowe Price.
Both the Porsche and Piech families – which are descendants of company founder Ferdinand Porsche – are reported to have taken a large percentage of the company’s shares.
However, the 113.9 million shares sold in the IPO carry no voting rights, and retail investors account for only 7.7 percent of the shares that went public.
Volkswagen Group says it will use the 19.5 billion euros raised to help finance its transition to electric cars.