Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) Announces Offers For Magneti Marelli

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) has announced that it has received numerous offers for component subsidiary Magneti Marelli from interested parties.

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The CEO OF Fiat Chrysler announced on Friday that the company’s component business has been experiencing a lot of interest from various parties. However, the CEO did not reveal the actual number of interested parties and neither did he reveal their names. Sergio Marchionne also stated that there is still a chance that the firm will continue to manufacture the Dodge Dart despite negative expectations by analysts about the model in the US market.

Marchionne hopes that his firm will soon have a solution and also stated that FCA is in talks with various potential partners for continued production of the Dodge Dart. He had announced earlier this year that Fiat Chrysler would stop manufacturing two of its poorly selling vehicles and seek a new production partner. Samsung is one of the companies that have been rumored to be interested in the component business. Marchionne further stated that his company has a strong relationship with Samsung. He, however, didn’t reveal whether Samsung was one of the firms that presented bids for Magneti Marelli.

Sources familiar with the matter had earlier stated that Samsung was in talks with FCA over the component business. They claimed that Samsung is particularly interested in the telematics business, in-car entertainment, and lighting. The sources who made the claims sought anonymity because the discussions between the two firms are private.

Samsung believes that the automotive component segment might be one of the major sales and growth drivers considering that the handset business is experiencing a slowdown. Acquiring the Magneti Marelli division would therefore be a significant move for Samsung because the company would get a chance to overcome the otherwise high entry point. The latter has been set by previous track records and the conservative nature of the industry. Marchionne stressed that the sale of the division is not the point of interest for FCA but the firm aims to achieve strategic value.

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