What's Ferrari worth? A cool $US12bn, say new shareholders

SHAREHOLDERS have tipped $1.2 billion of cash into Ferrari's bank accounts as the company officially lists a small slice of its name on the public ledger.

The 9 percent stake in the company listed on the New York Stock Exchange at $US52 ($A72) a share, the higher end of analysts' estimates of how much the market thought the shares were worth, officially raising $US893 million for the company.

Accounting for the remaining stake in the Italian supercar and lifestyle brand, this values the company at about $US12 billion, putting it within easy reach of Australia's richest woman, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, who has a net worth of about $US17 billion.

In early trade, shares in the publicly listed company burst past $US60 a share before sitting at about $US58 later in the day.

The float will also provide a windfall for Fiat Chrysler Automobile shareholders, the owner of the remaining shares in Ferrari, with about a $US12 billion nest egg when the remaining stake is distributed to everyone who has a stake in the Italian-US carmaking giant.

Reuters reported that demand for a stake in the company before the float outweighed the 17.18 million shares on offer – pent-up demand is one of Ferrari's key selling points, the company admitted in its prospectus released a week before the float.

The prospectus also shows Australia is a good earner for the brand, reaping it $A10 million last financial year. That's the equivalent of a $62,000 profit for each of the 161 cars the brand sold over 2014-15, VFACTS data reveals.