Reporter Gong Mengze from our newspaper
On November 22nd, Stellantis Group (hereinafter referred to as "Stellantis Group") and Dongfeng Motor Group Limited (hereinafter referred to as "Dongfeng Group"), a subsidiary of Dongfeng Motor (Hong Kong) International Co., Ltd., confirmed that they have executed a transaction in which Stellantis Group will repurchase 50 million shares of Stellantis Group common stock from Dongfeng Group (accounting for 1.58% of Stellantis Group's share capital before the share cancellation), The total consideration for the aforementioned shares is 934 million euros (approximately 7.277 billion yuan), and Strantis Group plans to cancel the aforementioned shares.
After the completion of this transaction, Dongfeng Group will hold 49.2 million ordinary shares of Strantis Group, accounting for 1.58% of Strantis Group's share capital. The share repurchase framework agreement previously signed by both parties remains valid for 49.2 million shares of common stock.
According to public information, Strantis Group is an automotive manufacturer and travel solution provider formed by the merger of PSA Group and Fiat Chrysler Group (FCA) in a 50:50 ratio. The group's brands include: Abbas, Alpha Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, and others. In 2022, Strantis Group sold over 6 million cars worldwide, achieving a net revenue of 179.6 billion euros and a net profit of 16.8 billion euros.
According to a reporter from Securities Daily, the repurchase of ordinary shares of Strantis Group from Dongfeng Group is based on the authority granted by the shareholders' meeting of Strantis Group on April 13, 2023.
Strantis Group stated that the stock repurchase transaction with Dongfeng Company will not affect its announced € 1.5 billion public market stock repurchase plan on February 22 of this year.
When it comes to the cooperation between Strantis Group and Dongfeng Group, Olivier, a member of the global executive committee of Strantis Group, Chief Operating Officer of China, and Vice Chairman of DPCA, stated in October this year that Dongfeng and Strantis Group have reached an agreement on DPCA's future strategic arrangements. Firstly, with the support of both shareholders, DPCA will continue to manufacture and sell Peugeot and Citroen brand models in the Chinese market, Strantis Group will provide support in marketing; Secondly, DPCA will continue to export Peugeot and Citroen models globally; Thirdly, it will help Shenlong Company navigate through the transformation of new energy.
In response, Dongfeng Group announced that the company has purchased specific land use rights, buildings, and structures located in Wuhan and Xiangyang from Dongfeng Company, and has reached leasing arrangements with Dongfeng Company. Dongfeng Group will lease the target assets to Dongfeng Company. Dongfeng Group reiterated in the announcement that the governance model of Dongfeng Group and Strantis Group for DPCA will remain unchanged, the equity ratio of China and France will remain unchanged, and the Chinese and French shareholders will continue to fulfill the strategic cooperation agreement signed in 2019.
According to public information, DPCA was established in 1992 and jointly built by Dongfeng Group and Strantis Group. It is one of the earliest enterprises in China to implement the "dual brand" strategy. Shenlong Automobile is one of the three earliest joint venture car companies in China; Shenlong Automobile is the "only child" of the "legal system" in the Chinese market, and also the starting point of Dongfeng's passenger car industry.
It is worth mentioning that since the beginning of this year, Strantis Group has taken frequent actions in the Chinese new energy vehicle market. On October 26th, Strantis Group invested approximately 1.5 billion euros (approximately 11.6 billion yuan) in Zero Motor to acquire approximately 20% of the latter's equity and obtain two seats on Zero Motor's board of directors.
At the same time, Strantis Group and Zero Run Motors plan to jointly form a joint venture company called "Zero Run International" in a ratio of 51:49. The CEO of the joint venture company is appointed by the Strantis Group.
Subsequently, Strantis Group announced that Olivier would serve as the general manager and executive vice president of the "Strantis Group Zero Run Technology Strategic Alliance Office" for the Strantis Group, which is a newly established internal organization of the Strantis Group. At the same time, Olivier will also serve as a director of Zero Run Technology Co., Ltd. And Ou Siming will take over from Olivier as the Chief Operating Officer of Strantis Group in China. Douglas will also serve as a director of Zero Run Technology Co., Ltd.
In addition to vehicle companies, the Strantis Group is also deploying in the upstream and downstream fields. On November 21st, Strantis Group announced the signing of a strategic memorandum of understanding with Ningde Times to supply lithium iron phosphate batteries to Strantis Group in the European market and explore the possibility of establishing a joint venture on a peer-to-peer basis.