By Julien Dupont-Calbo
Posted at 05:59
He took the pen to take stock. John Elkann wrote Tuesday to the shareholders of Exor, the holding of the Agnelli family controlling Fiat Chrysler, Ferrari, “The Economist” or Juventus Turin. Commenting on the annual results and welcoming the transition from hiring Cristiano Ronaldo to Juve, the heir to the Turin clan explained that Fiat Chrysler’s commitment to its “bright and profitable future” was “unchanged”.
In the next twenty years, he says, the automobile industry is going to be deeply mutated, and the Agnelli and Fiat Chrysler “will play an active and ambitious role in this new era”. Exor holds 29% of the capital and 42% of the voting rights of Fiat Chrysler, and the successors of the Avoccato Gianni Agnelli hammer their intention to stay in the sector.
The Peugeot-Fiat sea serpent
To tell the truth, these words seem harmless. But the words of the forty-year-old take on a different meaning in the current context. In recent weeks, rumors of marriage between Fiat Chrysler and PSA – one of the biggest sea serpents of the automobile -, are back. Discussions on different topics take place between the two manufacturers, already partners in the large commercial vehicles. They have resurfaced since the death last summer of Sergio Marchionne, the man who had accepted the direction of Fiat in 2004 “after a long dinner and some grappas,” recalls John Elkann in his missive. For the moment, no offer would be on the table.
Avid for merger, Sergio Marchionne had rejected a PSA approach shortly after the arrival of Carlos Tavares in the Peugeot House, in 2014. The two men had already got in trouble when both were trying to get their hands on Chrysler during the last economic crisis. Carlos Tavares was then at Nissan and Sergio Marchionne had finally won the piece. Two weeks ago, Robert Peugeot had stated in an interview with “Les Echos” that the founding family of PSA would support a major operation . “With Fiat Chrysler as with others, the planets could be aligned,” he said.
Since then, sources close to the case in France and Italy have indicated that a rapprochement between the two parties could only be done as part of a friendly maneuver and a “win-win” agreement . Obviously, it is not John Elkann who will say the opposite.
Julien Dupont-Calbo