ROME – On Thursday, Italy’s cabinet said Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) robotics business Comau will have to preserve production plants and central functions in Italy as Rome approved under conditions the sale of a majority stake in the company to One Equity Partners.
Earlier this year the automaker agreed to sell a 50.1% stake in full-owned Comau to One Equity, a fund investing in businesses in the industrial, healthcare, and technology sectors in the U.S. and Europe. Stellantis will retain a 49.9% stake.
The deal, which was criticized by Italian trade unions, triggered the government’s scrutiny based on so-called golden power legislation, which gives Rome the right to block or set prescriptions on deals involving Italian companies that operate in strategic industries.
No financial details of the deal have been disclosed.
One Equity and Stellantis (NYSE: STLA) “committed to making sure the deal will have a positive impact on jobs in the medium-long term,” the office of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said in a statement.
Conditions set by the government for the sale also include ensuring an adequate level of research and development investments, it added.
Stellantis did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Comau declined to comment.
Comau’s spin-off from Stellantis was part of agreements between Fiat Chrysler and France’s Peugeot maker PSA when they merged in 2021 to create the world’s fourth largest automaker, a Franco-Italian-U.S. conglomerate that also makes brands including Jeep, Alfa Romeo, Opel, and Ram.
(Source: ReutersReuters)
