An employee at the Fiat Chrysler Windsor assembly plant works inside the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid chassis in December 2016.
Fiat Chrysler
Shareholders in the Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and PSA Groupe, based in France, on Monday approved a merger plan to create Stellantis, the fourth largest automotive group in the world.
The vote was one of the last stages of the merger, which companies hope to close on Jan. 16. PSA CEO Carlos Tavares, who will lead the combined company, said the deal removed all regulatory obstacles.
Stellantis’ common shares will begin trading on Mercato Telematico Azionario in Milan and on Euronext in Paris on January 18, followed by the New York Stock Exchange on January 19.
“We are ready. We are ready for this merger. We are ready for this creation of value,” said Tavares during a virtual shareholders’ meeting on Monday. He called this “a historic moment” for the company.
The merger is expected to generate about 5 billion euros, or $ 6.1 billion, in annual cost savings, according to officials. The automaker’s operations will be mainly in North America and Europe. Stellantis will include 14 automotive brands – from Maserati, Jeep and Ram by Fiat Chrysler to Peugeot, Citroen and Opel by PSA.
The plans for the merger were initially confirmed by the companies in late 2019. Fiat Chrysler, the seventh largest automaker in the world, was looking for a partnership to increase the scale and consolidate costs for several years.