One for all or, really, all for one.
That seems to be the going manta right now for anyone who wants to acquire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. All or nothing.
Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said Monday during a New York Stock Exchange event that the company will not consider spinning off Jeep separately to a potential buyer. This echoes remarks he made earlier this year that FCA needed “to worry about the stump that’s left behind” in a potential Jeep selloff.
China’s Great Wall Motor Company was the most recent interested party in purchasing FCA, stating in August that it was looking into acquiring the automaker. However, FCA countered shortly after that no one had come knocking about a purchase. It is widely believed Great Wall was/is interested in FCA simply for the Jeep brand.
Marchionne clarified FCAs position even further Monday, saying that a deal with Great Wall wouldn’t make sense, at least right now, because there are “sensitive issues associated with trans-national mergers,” and he did not believe those issues had been thoroughly thought through between the two automakers.
While Marchionne has said in the past he wants to find a partner or buyer for FCA as costs rise, he said partnering with Great Wall would be difficult as the two companies do not overlap in terms of market or products.
He reiterated that Fiat Chrysler would produce better returns by combining with another automaker, but FCA hasn’t had any offers from a company that meets his criteria - so he’s focusing on an independent strategy going forward.
“It’s incorrect to assume that FCA’s future hinges on doing a deal,” Marchionne said. "We aren't deal junkies."
Marchionne essentially put out a ‘For Sale’ sign two years ago when he said it would make more economic sense for automakers to band together instead of wasting money developing, essentially, the same technology. At the time, he also tried to woo GM into a merger which was quickly rebuffed.
Since then, Volkswagen and Hyundai have also been linked to a potential merger with FCA along with Great Wall, with the latter being the only officially interested party.
FCA is currently the world’s seventh-largest automaker with net revenues exceeding $130 billion in 2016.
While FCA has put up the stop sign on selling Jeep outright, industry experts believe the Jeep brand would be worth nearly $20 billion as a standalone purchase.
