Volvo Cars aims to raise 25 billion crowns ($2.9 billion dollars) in the first of two planned issuances of shares before year-end as part of its initial public offering on the Nasdaq Stockholm stock exchange. Volvo CEO Hakan Samuelsson says the automaker could have covered the cost of its transition into an electric-only brand by 2030 without an IPO, but he believes the timing of the move is ideal given investors' interest in EV-focused brands. Volvo Chief Financial Officer Bjorn Annwall says the pressure to satisfy global investors will make the company "stronger, better and quicker." Both men spoke with Automotive News Europe Managing Editor Douglas A. Bolduc.
What percentage of the company will be available on the open market?
Bjorn Annwall: I guess the short answer is that we don't know at this point. What we have said is this is a primary issuance of 25 billion crowns, or $2.9 billion dollars. Then there will likely be a secondary top up. In the end, the shares that will be available depends on the size of the secondary issuance as well as the valuation of the company. Therefore, I can't give you a definitive answer. But when we issued the prospectus, there will be much more clarity around the price range and also what we're planning with regard to the secondary issuance. I think it's key to say that we are doing this mainly to raise the primary proceeds to fund our transformation.
What will the $2.9 billion cover?
Annwall: The big picture is our transformation. We're going toward a full-electric future, we are going toward a kind of core compute architecture in which we are taking over a lot of software development ourselves, and we are going toward a direct-to-consumer retail model. To do that, we need to invest in battery cell technology and R&D as well as battery factories. We need to invest somewhat more in our balance sheet to cover the cost of moving to a direct-to-consumer relationship. That is what this money is for. And then on top of that, in an industry that is transforming as much ours, things will happen. As a small and nimble player with a position of strength financially, I think opportunities will present themselves. I think we need to be proactive in that case.