“Work on the merger project between FCA and PSA is proceeding according to plan and on schedule. The strategic rationale for this combination of the two companies and their employees is stronger than ever." John Elkann reassures shareholders and investors during the Exor meeting taking place in the morning in Amsterdam, just as the controversy over the state-guaranteed loan requested by FCA is raging in Italy and the stock plummets to the stock market where it also registers -5,5 percent. below 7 euros, and ends up in volatility. Investors are wondering about the 5,5 billion super-dividend – expected in the event of the PSA-FCA merger – which could slip over time after Fiat Chrysler's request to ask for state guarantees on loans of 6,3 billion euros.
The effect however is of a gradual recovery for both fca that for Exor, both of which remain in negative ground though.
Responding to shareholders' questions, all strictly online, the president of Exor and FCA also specified, staying on topic, that "the Covid-19 emergency has certainly not made things easier for the auto industry. But maybe it made some clearer. We are at the beginning of a new era of innovation in this sector, due to the triple revolution of the connected, clean and autonomous car". An extra push to innovate: "The companies and countries that act more decisively today to seize the opportunities of this revolution will be the ones that will be successful".
Coming instead to the Partner Re affair and the failure of the transfer agreement to the French reinsurance company Covéa, the number 1 of Exor specified that "we will maintain ownership of PartneRe, which has shown great resilience during the Covid-19 emergency. We managed to acquire the company after fighting hard, and we are determined to support its development”. “We do not expect major impacts on society due to the pandemic. Indeed, thanks to its capital strength metrics, the highest among its peers, and its ample liquidity, the company is very well positioned to take advantage of the current favorable market conditions in the reinsurance sector,” concluded Elkann.
