TORINO – The reorganization of the system of financial companies active in the auto sector for the group Stellantis starts from the US with the creation of its own company. The company led by Carlos Tavares has announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement for the acquisition of the American First Investors, an independent car financing company. The all-cash transaction is valued at $ 285 million and is expected to close by the end of 2021. First is headquartered in Houston, Texas, and has been in the industry for more than 32 years. “This transaction marks a milestone in Stellantis’ sales financing strategy in a strategic market like the United States – underlines Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares – First Investors has an exceptional financial and operational platform, backed by a strong team. management, with extensive experience in the field of automotive financing. Ownership of a financial company in the United States is an opportunity that will allow Stellantis to develop a full range of financial products for our customers and dealers in the short to medium term, including retail and leasing loans and network financing ” .
The group born from the merger between Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA wants to create its own financial company in the US to support sales and fully capitalize on its market position. “The acquisition of First Investors will allow Stellantis to create a platform from which to grow a financial organization capable of offering a complete range of products and services for its customers – reads the note announcing the transaction – Stellantis is the only large OEM currently operating in the United States without a proprietary finance company. The transaction represents an important strategic opportunity, with significant potential for increased profits and customer loyalty. Its own holding company contributes to significantly improve the experience linked to car ownership and connectivity services in the digital age for customers who purchase the vehicles of the group, Jeep, Ram, Dodge, Chrysler, Fiat and Alfa Romeo. In addition, it will allow the Stellantis group to develop new business strategies ”.
Tommy Moore, Jr, president and CEO of First Investors, noted, “We are thrilled to join the Stellantis team. Joining Stellantis provides long-term stability for our company and our employees. We believe that under the new ownership, there are significant growth opportunities for First Investors by expanding our product offering to support Stellantis’ growth in auto sales. First Investors’ management team is fully committed to ensuring a quick and smooth integration into the group ”.
In Europe too, the spotlight is on Stellantis to understand when and how the fourth largest car manufacturer in the world will reorganize the system of controlled financial companies operating in different countries. The group born in January 2021 has several companies: FCA Bank, a financial company brought as a dowry by FCA with an equal shareholding of the French bank Credit Agricole (agreement that expires at the end of 2024), then there is Banque Psa, a joint venture created in 2014 with the Spaniards of Santander Consumer Finance (alliance ending in 2025), and in 2017, with the acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall, Opel Financial Service also arrived, which is owned by another transalpine institute, Bnp Parisbas. Do not forget the subsidiaries for long-term rental, Leasys, controlled by FCA, and Free2Move, brought by Psa. The first to be interested in what scenarios are opening up are the banks, in particular Santander and Credit Agricole, which are trying to explore the possibilities and spaces. This is a very important market, not only for consumer credit for the sale of cars, but for the innovative services that financial companies could implement to help and support, also from a credit point of view, the transition towards electric mobility.
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