Abstract

In early January 2021 Stellantis was born from the merger of F iat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot. Billed as a merger of equals, it veils the purchase of F ca by Peugeot. This can be seen in the composition of the Board of Directors, as well as in the allocation of top management responsibilities in Stellantis. Exor, F ca ’s controlling shareholder prior to the merger, will still be the combined entity’s main shareholder, but its nature – that of a pure financial holding, with a «quasi-private equity» approach – leaves few doubts about its choices, should shareholders be called to a huge capital injection. In view of likely future decisions about plant closures, this suggests the Repubblica Italiana could acquire a stake in Stellantis, matching the 6.2% held in Stellantis by a financial arm of the République Française. The merger was, in the end, the right thing to do, but this was not the inevitable destiny of F iat . The article recounts, as in a series of sketches, events and choices that, from the late fourties on, landed Fiat , and then Fca , in the welcoming arms of Peugeot.