Pirelli prefers to not be Chinese anymore. The tire manufacturer Italy 37 percent of the Chinese investor Sinochem, based in Milan, wants to go into the USA expand and fear that this could fail because of the anti-China posture of the Trump administration. There Pirelli achieved a quarter of his global income.
According to a report by the “Financial Times”, the Pirelli board wants to ask Sinochem on Wednesday to reduce its shares in the company to less than 26.4 percent. The Chinese would give up their role as a majority shareholder and equalize with the Italian shareholder Camfin. The “Financial Times” refers to insider in its report. This would be possible, for example, by a share buyback. Whether Sinochem, represented by his President Jiao Jian (58), agrees, is considered unsafe: In preparatory talks before the board meeting, no agreement is said to have been reached, as the “FT” writes.
US ban on Chinese car components is provided by Pirelli
Pirelli not only produces tires for Formula 1 cars, but has also developed a technology that linked the tire sensors with the vehicles on the vehicle on the on-board computer. This technology is very popular in the United States, writes the “FT”, and Pirelli hopes for good business. Because of the participation of Sinochem, the Italians are now afraid of being cut off from the market. Shortly before Trump’s takeover, his predecessor Joe Biden (82) had networked cars from manufacturers under Chinese or Russian control at the last meters of his term in January prohibited from model year 2027. Electronics are in sight in the cars: mobile communications and other communication technology as well as driving assistance systems. Trump’s customs war could also make business difficult.
Pirelli already produces in a factory in the US state of Georgia. According to the “FT” report, the company had already tried to expand its activities in the United States in view of the customs announcements of the US President. Pirelli has so far produced a large part of the tires for the North American market in Mexico and South America.
It is not the first time that Pirelli and investor’s Italian management clashed: After the Chinese investors had acquired shares in Pirelli for 7.7 billion euros in 2015, it was actually not agreed not to interfere in daily business, the strategy or the traditional Milgish company. In 2023, however, Sinochem tried to revise the shareholder pact and to withdraw the right of shareholders Camfin the right to appoint the CEO. As a result, the Italian government stepped in and restricted Sinochem’s shareholders.