PSA and Fiat Chrysler agree terms to create the world’s fourth-largest car maker.
Combined group yet to be named
PARIS: French carmaker Groupe PSA and US-Italian rival Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV said yesterday that they had agreed on the terms of a merger to create the world’s fourth-largest automaker as the sector grapples with the difficult and costly transition to cleaner and more sustainable mobility.
“Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Groupe PSA have today signed a binding combination agreement providing for a 50/50 merger of their businesses to create the fourth largest global automotive original equipment manufacturer by volume and third largest by revenue,” the companies said in a statement.
They added that there would be “no plant closures resulting from the transaction.”
Ranking behind global rivals Volkswagen AG, Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi and Toyota Motor Corp, the combined group will have a workforce of more than 400,000, total revenues of close to €170 billion ($190 million) and annual unit sales of some 8.7 million vehicles.
Its brands will include Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot and Vauxhall.
“The joint entity will have the leadership, resources and scale to be at the forefront of a new era of sustainable mobility,” PSA and FCA said.
The tie-up — which the two sides had originally agreed to at the end of October — will “deliver approximately €3.7 billion in estimated annual synergies” or cost savings.
The merger is expected to be
completed in 12-15 months, according to the statement.
Before the merger is completed, one of PSA’s shareholders, China’s Dongfeng Motor Group, will trim its 12.2% stake in the French firm by selling 30.7 million shares to PSA.
“Our merger is a huge opportunity to take a stronger position in the auto industry as we seek to master the transition to a world of clean, safe and sustainable mobility,” PSA’s Carlos Tavares said in a statement.
FCA CEO Mike Manley saw it as “a union of two companies with incredible brands and a skilled and dedicated workforce. Both have faced the toughest of times and have emerged as agile, smart, formidable competitors.”
The combined group — which has yet to be given a name — would be headquartered in the Netherlands, and continue to be listed on the Paris, Milan and New York stock exchanges.
FCA chief John Elkann will be chairman and PSA’s Tavares chief executive officer.
“The lion’s share of the savings will be generated in the joint development of technology, products and platforms, as well as in purchasing, but also in marketing, IT systems and logistics,’’ the statement said.
“Those synergies will enable the combined business to invest significantly in the technologies and services that will shape mobility in the future while meeting the challenging global CO2 regulatory requirements.”
Analysts nevertheless argue that the two companies are still too dependent on the declining European market and lack a strong presence in China, the world’s largest car market.
CMC Markets analyst Michael Hewson suggested there was “certain to be a sizeable overlap between the two businesses, with the business in the UK perhaps the most vulnerable given the politics at play, and the labour laws in France and Italy which make it much more difficult to reduce the size of the workforce there.”
The US regulatory authorities could still block the deal, the expert said.
Jasper Lawler at London Capital Group agreed.
“The next hurdle is getting the deal through regulators. We think given the negative ramifications for European — and especially German economic growth from the downturn in the car industry — this deal has a good chance of passing the EU’s typically very interventionist regulators,” the analyst said.
“The bigger challenge could come stateside if the Trump administration gets an any inkling that homegrown brand Chrysler is becoming European.”
For its part, the French government welcomed the deal.
The announced was “very good news,” said economy and Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire. “It marks an important stage in the creation of a European champion.’’