Ferrari to Offer Multi Billion Dollar IPO

Italian sports car manufacturer Ferrari, well known as one of the world’s leading producers of luxury high performance vehicles, has officially filed the documents necessary to proceed with an IPO. Fiat Chrysler, which currently owns the Ferrari brand, announced nearly a year ago that it would create a separate corporate entity for the company.

Ferrari, which will trade under the ticker symbol RACE, will issue 17,175,000 for initial purchase by the public. The shares, with an estimated value of between $48 and $52 apiece, are expected to raise roughly $894 million in capital for the company. The total IPO valuation of the Ferrari brand has been placed at $9.8 billion, an initial valuation that is rarely reached in a market filled with internet startups. Shares will be priced officially on October 20th.

Some analysts think it likely that the filing of an IPO may fundamentally change the business model that Ferrari employs. While it is unlikely that the company will move away from producing high performance cars, it may be that the pressure from investors to post higher profits will force Ferrari to begin increasing production of its vehicles. At present, only about 7,000 Ferrari vehicles are manufactured each year. In order to support and market the IPO, top executives will embark on a series of stops to show off the latest Ferrari models to potential investors, as well as potential customers. The stops for the promotional tour will include New York, Baltimore, Boston, London, and the Maranello racetrack at Ferrari’s company headquarters in Italy.