DON’T HAVE A spare €200,000 for a shiny new Ferrari 458? No problem, soon you will be able to buy a piece of the iconic prancing-horse brand for a whole lot less.
Ferrari’s parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) has announced plans to spin off the performance-car marque as part of a massive push to join the ranks of the global leaders selling premium vehicles.
FCA said it would put 10% of Ferrari on sale to the public when the firm was listed on the sharemarket in the US, and possibly Europe, next year.
Most of the remainder would go to existing FCA shareholders, while 10% would stay in the family of founder Enzo Ferrari, whose son Piero took a stake in the firm after his father died in 1988.
The world’s most powerful brand
Ferrari sales are strictly capped at about 7,000 cars a year to maintain the exclusivity of the brand, which has been rated the world’s “most powerful” based on its desirability and international recognition.
Analysts have put the potential value of the prancing horse at up to €5.8 billion when it goes to market, depending on how its balance sheets look.
Ferrari has turned over €2 billion and shipped some 5,280 cars so far this year for profit, before taxes and interest, of €274 million.
Parent company FCA is the world’s seventh-biggest car manufacturer and it owns marques that include Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Jeep.
Fiat took over US carmarker Chrysler early this year and the combined company plans to sink €48 billion into its operations with the target of selling 7 million cars worldwide by 2018.
FCA chairman John Elkann said: “The separation of Ferrari will preserve the cherished Italian heritage and unique position of the Ferrari business and allow (our) shareholders to continue to benefit from the substantial value inherent in this business.”
A little history of the prancing horse
1898 – Ferrari founder Enzo Ferrari was born in Modena, Italy
1947 – The first Ferrari, the 125 Sport, was produced under the brand name in Maranello
1952 – Racer Alberto Ascari won the company’s first world racing title
1969 – Ferrari sold the Fiat Group a 50% stake in the business
1985 – The brand starts selling its famous Testarossa model
1988 – Enzo Ferrari died aged 90 after commissioning the F1-inspired F40 supercar. By this stage, Fiat owned 90% of the company
2000 – Michael Schumacher wins the first of five F1 championships for the rejuvenated Ferrari team
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