Fiat Repurchases Ferrari Shares
20.6.01

Fiat SpA bought back a 3% block of Ferrari SpA shares it sold five years ago to the Prudentia Closed Mutual Fund.

Fiat paid Euro 15.2 million for the shares, 31.1% more than the price it received in 1996. At this price Fiat's current evaluation of Ferrari is Euro 456 million, much lower than estimates by independent analysts of between Euro 1 billion and Euro 2 billion.

Fiat again said it has no "short-term" plans to make a public offer of a stake in Ferrari. Fiat owns 90% of Ferrari. Ferrari Vice Chairman Piero Ferrari, son of the company founder, owns the remaining 10%.

In 2000, Ferrari sold 6,099 cars - 4,072 Ferraris and 2,027 Maseratis - generating revenue of Euro 893.3 million and a consolidated operating profit of Euro 45 million.

This stock exchange activity resurrected a flurry of rumours about the future ownership of Ferrari. A trade sale, a management buy-out or a separate flotation have all been mentioned. Ferrari SpA have issued the following denial "Ferrari categorically denies stories which have emerged in the media about the supposed division of the company into three separate entities. Such a move has never been considered and therefore these rumours are completely without foundation."

additional reporting by Luca Ciferri, Automotive News Europe

Click here to return to the Ferrari Happenings page.