Talk of Comau is returning following rumors that appear to speak of the Italian government giving the go-ahead for the sale of a majority stake in the company. The company specializing in robotics, would then be sold for its majority to One Equity Partners. A business strategy that marks a very important moment for the company and for the country’s entire automation sector.
Stellantis close to green light for sale of Comau
As early as several months ago, Stellantis automotive group made it public that it was concrete in its intention to divest a majority stake in Comau. The Turin-based company, therefore, has been preparing for some time now to see the possibility of handing over majority ownership to a new point of reference. Right from the start, reactions have not been very positive in Italy,
Awaiting the go-ahead granted by the Italian government
According to several reliable sources, as reported by Reuter, Stellantis is almost in a position to sell the majority stake in its collaborating company Comau. The green light should be granted by the Italian government. Although the choice on the part of Stellantis is already quite clear, it appears that the automotive group will still remain within Comau with minority shares. Now, according to to sources reported, Stellantis is close to getting the green light from the Italian government to sell a majority stake in its subsidiary Comau. The company specializes in robotics and, according to past agreements, could have gone to the U.S. investment fund One Equity Partners.
Golden power not taken into consideration?
The legislation regarding “golden power” currently seems to have been left aside. This legislation would be the action that allows executive power to intervene, blocking or imposing conditions on strategic Italian companies. The source who made the news public, who chose to remain anonymous, appears to have stated that the Italian government is leaning more toward a conditional approval of the Stellantis transition.
One Equity is an investment fund with a long-standing interest in the industrial, technology and healthcare sectors in both the United States and Europe. The current agreement with this fund, calls for it to acquire a 50.1 percent stake in Comau, leaving Stellantis with the remaining 49.9 percent. In this regard, strong concerns have been expressed by Italian labor unions. In fact, government intervention was also called for, as it has been known for several years that this possibility existed from Stellantis.
Possible increased financial resources for Comau
The idea of spinning off Comau from Stellantis was already present within the strategic agreement that was made in January 2021, the year Stellantis was founded with the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and PSA.
Now, the possible entry of One Equity Partners represents a very significant access to significant additional financial resources for Comau. At the top of the company, things will not change, as management will remain in the hands of Pietro Gorlier as CEO and Alessandro Nasi as chairman. What will change is precisely the business side of the company, which is certainly not a small detail if one refers to the time spent so far with Stellantis.