A regulatory document issued by the European Commission on May 11 showed that the EU antitrust regulator will decide whether to approve a US $50 billion merger transaction between FCA and PSA before June 17.
In December last year, PSA and FCA announced that they will form the world ’s fourth-largest automaker through a merger. FCA from Italy owns brands such as Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram and Maserati; while PSA from France owns brands such as Peugeot, Opel and DS.
The European Commission website shows that FCA and PSA submitted a merger application on May 8. The EU Antitrust Commission may approve the merger of FCA and PSA conditionally or unconditionally. In addition, if the EU is concerned about the transaction, it can initiate a comprehensive investigation of approximately 4 months after the initial review.
The merger transaction between the two parties coincided with the decline in global car sales. In order to curb the spread of the new coronavirus epidemic, automakers around the world have closed their factories and dealers have closed stores. Although some countries have begun to loosen control and some companies have begun to restart their factories, the auto market has been severely hit.
A few days before the European Commission issued the document, FCA CEO Mike Manley reiterated that although the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic posed a challenge to the company’s finances, the two companies will complete the plan at the end of this year or early 2021.
After the merger, PSA CEO Carlos Tavares will serve as the new company ’s CEO, and FCA chairman John Elkann will serve as the new company ’s chairman. The two companies previously stated that after the merger, all of their brands will remain, but it is not clear how long this situation will last.
