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The way is clear for the new car giant Stellantis: the shareholders of the French manufacturer Peugeot PSA have approved the mega-merger with Fiat Chrysler (FCA) with an overwhelming majority. “We are ready for this merger,” PSA chief executive Carlos Tavares said at an extraordinary general meeting. The 62-year-old will also lead the future fourth-largest automaker in the world with around 400,000 employees.
The date of the merger with Italian-American group FCA should be announced very soon, Tavares said. It was not more specific. So far, there has been talk of closing the billion-dollar deal by the end of March. The top manager, who is from Portugal, said that two healthy companies are merging. “This is a historic moment.”
Due to crown restrictions in France, there was no face-to-face event for PSA shareholders. In an extraordinary general meeting, three merger agreements were approved, each with more than 99.8 percent. An earlier event for shareholders with special voting rights also gave the green light with a large majority. According to the company, PSA shareholders receive 1,742 Stellantis shares for one share. The new company will have its official headquarters in the Netherlands.
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Following the approval of the shareholders of Opel’s parent company PSA, the shareholders of Fiat Chrysler (FCA) also approved the merger to form the “Stellantis” automotive joint venture. With nearly 100 percent approval, shareholders led the way for the merger of the auto companies, according to the company. “Stellantis will be one of the world’s leading vehicle manufacturers,” said FCA President John Elkann. It is even more important that a company emerges with the size, resources, diversity and knowledge to “successfully seize the opportunities of a new era.”
“Stellantis” is one more step, explained the 44-year-old. It is at the head of the FCA group and belongs to the Agnelli family of entrepreneurs, which Fiat co-founded as a car manufacturer and turned it into a major European car brand.
The EU competition watchdog had already approved the car wedding “between equals” in December with certain conditions. The new partnership with major pillars in Europe and North America will lead 14 brands, including Opel, Peugeot, Citroen, Chrysler, Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, Abarth and Dodge. Brands should also continue to exist.
Before the Corona crisis, Fiat Chrysler and PSA together sold around 8.7 million vehicles a year and had a turnover of 170,000 million euros. Only Volkswagen, Toyota and the Franco-Japanese Renault-Nissan network were bigger in 2019.
Tavares confirmed previous statements that there should be synergies of 5 billion euros annually. Before the outbreak of the crown crisis, which had a dramatic impact on the auto industry, it had ensured that no plants would be closed.
In his speech, Tavares praised the cooperation with the social partners in preparing for the merger, but did not elaborate on employment. In the French media it was said that a restructuring of the new association was inevitable in the context of the crisis. In France alone, according to industry data, more than 25 percent fewer cars were recorded last year.
Tavares said PSA and FCA are better positioned together. The industry faces a double burden of the consequences of a pandemic and a technological upheaval, for example, a major challenge is electric mobility.
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The appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the new group is John Elkann (44), grandson of the legendary Fiat Patriarch Giovanni “Gianni” Agnelli (1921-2003). As reported by the regional newspaper “Le Parisien – Aujourd-hui en France”, the Agnelli family will be represented with around 14.4 percent in the new group. It follows the Peugeot family with 7.4 percent. The French state is on the boat through a holding company with 6.1 percent. About two-thirds of the shares are in free float. (dpa / off / red)
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