Shares of Stellantis – the merged automaker of Fiat Chrysler and France-based Groupe PSA – jumped by more than 11% in their trading debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Tuesday.
The $52 billion merger was finalized Saturday, and the combined company’s shares started trading Monday under STLA on Euronext in Paris and the Borsa Italiana in Milan. Trading of U.S.-based shares, under the same ticker symbol, were delayed a day because the U.S. markets were closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.
Stellantis is the world’s fourth-largest automaker by volume. The company’s operations, including its 400,000 employees, will largely be in North America and Europe.
Here’s what else you should know about the company:
Shares
After the completion of the merger, Groupe PSA shareholders received about 1.7 shares of Stellantis for each PSA share, while Fiat Chrysler shareholders received one share of Stellantis for each of their shares.
In a virtual launch on the Borsa Italiana website, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, former chief executive of Groupe PSA, said the merger would add 25 billion euros ($30.3 billion) in value to shareholders over the coming years due to projected cost cuts.
“All of our employees and our management teams are totally focused on the value creation that is embedded on the merger of FCA-PSA and the creation of Stellantis,” he said.
Cost-cutting
The merger is expected to provide about 5 billion euros, or $6.1 billion, in annual cost savings, according to officials.
Stellantis
The company’s name is rooted in the Latin verb “stello” meaning “to brighten with stars,” the companies have said.
The name Stellantis will be used for the umbrella corporation, but not for its vehicles. The company’s 14 individual auto brands such as Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Fiat, Jeep and Peugeot – all which have historical significance in their respective countries – will remain unchanged.
Board of directors
The Stellantis board of directors is composed of two executive directors, Tavares and former Fiat Chrysler Chairman John Elkann.
The companies nonexecutive directors are:
- Robert Peugeot, of the French automaker’s Peugeot family
- Henri de Castries, former CEO of insurer Axa SA.
- Andrea Agnelli, Elkann’s cousin and a member of the family that controls Fiat Chrysler
- Fiona Clare Cicconi, chief human resources officer at AstraZeneca PLC
- Nicolas Dufourcq, CEO of French investment bank Bpifrance SA.
- Ann Frances Godbehere, director at Royal Dutch Shell PLC
- Wan Ling Martello, partner and co-founder of private equity firm BayPine
- Jacques de Saint-Exupery, head of the workers’ council at PSA
- Kevin Scott, chief technology officer at Microsoft
