As the world’s Ferrari owners returned from warm, exotic locales last weekend, probably still tipsy from their New Year’s celebrations, there was something different about their cars. The company that created each one of them, that very equine icon of speed and success, became independent on Sunday for the first time in 47 years. Ferrari now stands alone, on its own.
Ferrari’s initial public offering in October was just a warmup for what just happened: The Italian sports-car maker is now completely divested from Fiat-Chrysler, which controlled 90 percent and had owned at least half the company since 1969. In October, only 10 percent of Ferrari shares went public, and 80 percent have just been redistributed to FCA shareholders (Piero Ferrari, Enzo’s last living son, owns the last 10 percent). As of now, the “RACE” ticker is trading on the New York Stock Exchange at just over $47, down from the $55 IPO price on October 21. FCA stock tumbled by more than one-third, from $14 to $9 per share. If Ferrari’s share prices look disappointing, it’s only because we’re used to tech companies like Tesla trading on illusions and absurd hype. But admittedly, it could be higher.
As of now, Piero Ferrari and Exor (a holding company for the Agnellis and Nasis, the descendants of Fiat founder Giovanni Agnelli) together hold 33.5 percent of Ferrari shares and 48.8 percent of voting rights, which is slightly below the voting control FCA had initially stated. Even still, Exor and Ferrari have openly agreed to meet together separately before shareholder meetings and agree to give each other first purchasing rights should either party sell a stake. FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne is still chairman of Ferrari. In other words, Ferrari—of which FCA shareholders control 66.5 percent and have majority voting rights—isn’t maybe exactly the independent Ferrari you may have had in mind. But with Ferrari earning $262 million in net profit after taxes through September 2015, investors will be wise not to mess with these kinds of numbers.
They might do so, however, just a little bit. A second Ferrari theme park is already scheduled to open at the PortAventura resort outside Barcelona this year (owned by Investindustrial, the same Italian private equity firm that owns a controlling stake in Aston Martin). There also are plans, according to the Ferrari prospectus, to “selectively expand the presence of the Ferrari brand in attractive and growing lifestyle categories consistent with its image, including sportswear, watches, accessories, consumer electronics, and theme parks.” So, expect more red roller coasters that can zoom to 100 mph in less than five seconds. A Formula 1 championship or three would also be nice, but you gotta pay for those somehow. And stamping Scuderia shields on custom luggage and polo shirts is pretty damn easy.
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