Ferrari chairman Sergio Marchionne, who is also CEO of Fiat Chrysler, called the
entry onto the Milan exchange "a new starting line" for the prestigious brand. But he is
treading carefully with plans to expand the Ferrari brand, whose value relies on its
exclusivity. Marchionne wants to turn Ferrari into a luxury goods company in order to
profit more from the brand's prestige.
Ferrari is "probably the most difficult brand extension" to develop, Marchionne told a
news conference, and so the company intends to avoid doing "anything big and
stupid." "If you put a Ferrari sticker on a toaster it doesn't go faster," said Marchionne.
Back in October, for the NYSE listing, Fiat Chrysler listed a 10 percent stake at $52 a
share, valuing the company at nearly $10 billion. For the parallel Milan listing, Fiat
Chrysler distributed its remaining 80 percent to its shareholders, at a rate of one
common share of Ferrari for every 10 shares of Fiat Chrysler.
The spinoff will help Fiat Chrysler reduce debt and fund ambitious plans to expand
higher-margin luxury brands Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Until the October launch, the
automaker, based in the northern Italian town of Maranello, had been a private
company since its founding in 1929 by Italian sports car driver Enzo Ferrrari.
In 1969, Fiat bought a 50 percent stake in the company, which it then increased to 90
percent in 1988. As for Ferrari's race car mission, Marchionne said that the biggest
challenge is to bring back the team as a Formula 1 winner.
No hay comentarios.:
Publicar un comentario