Photo: PSA
For what it's worth, it was a much smoother ride than anyone expected: after the botched proposal to partner with Renault, Italian-American group FCA managed to get its hands on another French beauty, PSA, and will become an item with it as soon as next week.
On the first working day of the new year, January 4, the shareholders of both FCA and PSA came together and gave their thumbs up for the deal to go through. According to a joint statement, more than 99 percent of the votes cast were in favor of the merger, meaning that on January 16, the two will officially become Stellantis.
“Following today’s approval by shareholders and receipt of the final regulatory clearances over the course of the last month, including notably from the European Commission and the European Central Bank, FCA and Groupe PSA expect to complete the combination on January 16, 2021,” the statement reads.
The next step will be for the common shares of the companies to start trading and, as per the info available, that will take place on January 18 on the Mercato Telematico Azionario in Milan and Euronext in Paris, followed the next day by the New York Stock Exchange.
So, in mid-January, the auto world will have another behemoth running around. According to the data made available when the deal was announced, the joined company will become the fourth-largest player in the industry, targeting combined sales of 8.7 million cars each year and combined revenues of €170 billion ($194 billion).
Stellantis is a perfectly even affair, with both PSA and FCA holding 50 percent of it. Technically, that’s fair, but as history has shown, splitting things right down the middle is not always the best idea.
As for the name the two will be operating under (at a corporate level, that is, as the names of the existing car brands will not change), the word is rooted in the Latin verb “stello” meaning “to brighten with stars.” It was selected because its origins “pay tribute to the rich history of its founding companies while the evocation of astronomy captures the true spirit of optimism.”
“Following today’s approval by shareholders and receipt of the final regulatory clearances over the course of the last month, including notably from the European Commission and the European Central Bank, FCA and Groupe PSA expect to complete the combination on January 16, 2021,” the statement reads.
The next step will be for the common shares of the companies to start trading and, as per the info available, that will take place on January 18 on the Mercato Telematico Azionario in Milan and Euronext in Paris, followed the next day by the New York Stock Exchange.
So, in mid-January, the auto world will have another behemoth running around. According to the data made available when the deal was announced, the joined company will become the fourth-largest player in the industry, targeting combined sales of 8.7 million cars each year and combined revenues of €170 billion ($194 billion).
Stellantis is a perfectly even affair, with both PSA and FCA holding 50 percent of it. Technically, that’s fair, but as history has shown, splitting things right down the middle is not always the best idea.
As for the name the two will be operating under (at a corporate level, that is, as the names of the existing car brands will not change), the word is rooted in the Latin verb “stello” meaning “to brighten with stars.” It was selected because its origins “pay tribute to the rich history of its founding companies while the evocation of astronomy captures the true spirit of optimism.”
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