By Guy Taylor
Renault has cancelled its much-anticipated Ampere IPO because of poor current equity market conditions, in a blow to the carmaker’s turnaround plan.
“Renault Group considers that the current equity market conditions are not met to optimally pursue the IPO process in the best interests of Renault Group, its shareholders and Ampere,” the French automaker said in a statement.
The proposed IPO, which involved spinning out Renault’s electric vehicle and software arm, was one of the most hotly-anticipated in European markets and was set to take place in the first half of 2024.
Renault’s chief executive Luca de Meo suggested the division could command a €10bn valuation in September. The automaker had forecast more than €25bn (£8.52bn) in revenue from its Ampere electric vehicle unit by 2031.
However, doubts had been growing in recent months over the planned listing. Weaker EV demand, coupled with competition from China and market volatility have emerged as major headwinds over the last year.
In a statement, Renault boss de Meo said: “I’m extremely proud of our teams who created in less than 2 years the best answer to top global players competition with Ampere. By setting up a 100 per cent focused EV and software business, we built in record time an agile and competitive entity.”
“We have the start-up mindset which allows us to constantly innovate. This is exactly what will make Ampere successful in this new challenging environment. Today, we took a pragmatic decision. We are all focused on executing our strategy and building our track record to create value for all our stakeholders.”
