Pricing Set For Volkswagen's Truck IPO

Volkswagen AG announced that it is offering up to 15 percent of its heavy-truck subsidiary, Traton AG, in an initial public offering (IPO). The total offer ranges between 1.553 billion euros and 1.898 billion euros. The price range suggests a total valuation of 13.5 billion euros to 16.5 billion euros for the unit.

The company plans to list the shares on both the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stockholm.

"I am pleased that we have reached another milestone on TRATON's route to the IPO. We are now all set for the decisive phase. The IPO is driven by the aim to create value for our stakeholders," said Volkswagen Chief Financial Officer Frank Witter.

Previously, the company said that the offering will consist of existing shares that are only held by Volkswagen currently and that there are no plans to raise equity capital in this deal. Further, Volkswagen intends to retain a majority stake in TRATON following the IPO.

Volkswagen pulled an earlier planned TRATON offering in March citing market uncertainty.

Formerly Volkswagen Truck & Bus AG, TRATON includes the MAN, Scania and Volkswagen truck brands. The group of brands was consolidated in 2015 to form TRATON with the mission of creating a "global champion in the transportation industry in terms of profitability, global presence and innovation," according to the press release. TRATON has roughly 81,000 employees and 29 production and assembly facilities in 17 countries.

TRATON reported revenue of 25.9 billion euros in 2018 with a 13 percent increase in adjusted operating profit to 1.65 billion euros. The company is the market leader in its core markets of Europe and South America and recorded total truck sales of 233,000 units in 2018.

Volkswagen, through its wholly owned TRATON subsidiary, owns approximately 16.6 million shares, or 16.8 percent of Navistar NAV, a medium- and heavy-duty truck manufacturer. The alliance between the two companies provides joint collaboration on engine technology, the sale of engines and contract manufacturing. Volkswagen has been rumored to have an interest in acquiring NAV, but management has walked back those comments in recent weeks.

"We are confident as we are heading for the finishing line. A strong team effort has brought us here. We believe TRATON is an attractive investment and feedback from investors and analysts strengthens this belief," said TRATON's Chief Executive Officer Andreas Renschler.

The offer period will begin after the prospectus is approved and published and is expected to expire on June 27, 2019.

The first day of trading is planned for June 28, 2019.

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