Fiat CEO: Ferrari IPO Would Value Legendary Automaker at $7 Billion+

Fiat SpA CEO Sergio Marchionne said that he has a price in mind if bankers are interested in pursuing his company's flagship brand of Ferrari: 5 billion euros (or $7.3 billion). The company also owns a 30% stake in Chrysler Group LLC, as well as ownership of the Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Lancia brands. It appears that bankers are interested in the sports-car maker, with earnings before interest and taxes last year rising 23% to 302 million euros on revenue of 1.92 billion euros. “I've always viewed Ferrari as a sacred brand, and sacred brands are peculiar,” Marchionne said in an interview with Bloomberg at Fiat's headquarters in Turin, Italy. “I know I can float Ferrari any time, but there's nothing on my desk.” The company has even turned heads with its new family-friendly Ferrari, which will next month start delivering its $359,000 four-seat FF. According to a Bloomberg report, "Bankers are pitching Marchionne, who says he's ordered a white FF, to list the unit to reduce debt and improve Fiat's credit rating. Standard & Poor's lowered its rating on the Italian carmaker to BB from the already junk ranking of BB+ in February, after Fiat spun off the industrial operations from the car business." Marchionne is apprehensive, at best. “It's difficult to give a valuation of sacred brands like Ferrari. There are days when I think more than 5 billion euros.” Standard & Poor's said in February that it may downgrade Fiat again if it buys a majority stake in Chrysler in 2011.