That is just one option the company’s board of directors is considering as it works to “undertake procedures aimed at arriving at a better valuation of the activities of its tire division.”

The board directed chairman Marco Tronchetti Provera, and managing director Carlo Buora to “identify the best possible solutions for the realization” of increasing the company’s total value. This would include a possible listing on the Milan Stock Exchange, though Pirelli officials said the parent would retain majority ownership in the tire group.

“The conditions of the main markets and segments in which the group’s tire sector is active continue to be favorable, especially in the high-performance segment where the Pirelli brand is recognized as a world leader,” the company said in an official statement. “This constitutes the basis for further growth compared with that registered by Pirelli Tyres in recent years.”