Ferrari has seen a major stake sale as the Agnelli family, one of its key stakeholders, has offloaded a part of their shares worth around €3 billion ($3.14 billion). However, the billionaire family still owns the majority of shares and is the largest shareholder in Ferrari as they own about 30% of the voting rights of the company according to a Bloomberg report.
The Rationality Behind the Decision The family has decided to divest from the stake because they want to diversify their investment portfolio with a “sizable” new acquisition while at the same time announcing a €1 billion share buyback. However, Ferrari NV has revealed its desire to buy back as much as 10% of the shares that were sold by the family, with a limit of €300 million. The Agnelli family, the owners of Ferrari through Exor NV, their investment holding company, has offloaded seven million common shares or about 4% of Ferrari’s capital. The share was sold through an accelerated bookbuilding to institutional investors with the help of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. The offering is expected to be delivered on March 3. The stake sale comes after Ferrari has seen its stock performance, the luxury automaker’s valuation has risen more than ten times since its US Initial Public Offering (IPO). Ferrari was once a part of Fiat and is now Stellantis NV and was spun off nearly a decade ago. Its market capitalization on the New York Stock Exchange has now exceeded $120 billion, this is after the company has maintained its position as a leading supercar manufacturer.
