The billionaire Agnelli family’s CNH Industrial NV ended talks to sell its Iveco truck and bus business to China FAW Group Co (中國一汽集團), a move that was welcomed by the Italian and French governments.
“CNH Industrial believes there are significant opportunities to develop its On-Highway business by accelerating the deployment of ever more sustainable transport solutions and infrastructure, in line with the EU’s Green Deal ambitions,” the company said on Saturday in an e-mailed statement.
Bloomberg reported earlier that CNH had abandoned the talks because the Chinese automotive group had not presented an acceptable offer for Iveco, citing a person familiar with the discussions.
Photo: Reuters
The Italian government had signaled its opposition to CNH selling to a Chinese company and praised the decision.
The government had followed the development closely, because it considers the production of heavy vehicles a “strategic national interest,” Italian Minister of Economic Development Giancarlo Giorgetti said in an e-mailed statement.
The government is prepared to help ensure that this production remains in Italy, he said.
The decision was also welcomed in France, with French Minister of Finance Bruno Le Maire saying that he and Giorgetti are working together to maintain Europe’s manufacturing interests.
“This transaction raised important issues of industrial sovereignty,” he wrote on Twitter.
CNH had been holding talks with FAW since last year on a potential deal for Iveco. It already rejected an initial proposal from the Chinese company last year valuing the business at about 3 billion euros (US$3.6 billion), people with knowledge of the matter said last month.
The talks coincided with growing opposition to Chinese ownership among leading politicians.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi on April 8 said that he backed an extension of state protection for Italian businesses, after revealing that his government had blocked a Chinese takeover of an Italian semiconductor company.
Matteo Salvini, leader of the Lega Nord party, the most popular party in Draghi’s broad coalition, said last month that the administration must protect Iveco as a strategic asset.
CNH in 2019 announced plans to split its business making agricultural equipment from its commercial vehicle operations. Those efforts have been delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
A sale of one of Europe’s most iconic truck makers could shake up the sector as well as potentially attract domestic criticism of the Agnelli family for selling one of its historical assets to a foreign buyer.
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