Stellantis triggers government scrutiny with Comau stake sale

By Giulio Piovaccari and Giuseppe Fonte

MILAN (Reuters) -Carmaker Stellantis has agreed to sell a majority stake in its robotic unit Comau to One Equity Partners, in a deal that has drawn scrutiny from Italy's government.

Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed, but U.S.-based private equity firm One Equity will make a "majority investment" in Italian-headquartered Comau, and Stellantis will remain an active minority shareholder.

The deal will give One Equity a 50.1% stake in the company and Stellantis 49.9%, a source close to the matter told Reuters.

Following the announcement, which coincided with disappointing first half financial results from Stellantis, Italy's industry ministry said it was assessing whether golden power legislation aimed at shielding strategic assets could be applied to the sale.

Such powers give the government the right to block or set conditions on foreign forays targeting national companies that operate in strategic sectors.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's nationalist government has for months been at loggerheads with Stellantis, the world's fourth largest automaker whose brands include Fiat, accusing the automaker of neglecting its historic production bases in Italy.

Ante Kusurin, a partner at One Equity, said the firm had deep expertise in executing complex corporate carve-out transactions, adding it would help position Comau "as a successful stand-alone business."

Under the deal, Comau Executive Chairman Alessandro Nasi and CEO Pietro Gorlier will retain their jobs.

"This operation is consistent with Comau's strategic plan, which aims to expand its business beyond the automotive sector, targeting the global demand growth for industrial automation," Gorlier said.

The transaction, which is expected to close by the end of this year, was also criticised by Italian trade unions, which called on the Rome government to intervene.

"We express our opposition to the sale of Comau to private equity," the UILM union said in a statement, while FIM-Cisl explicitly asked the Italian government to use the golden power legislation.

One Equity Partners invests in businesses in the industrial, healthcare and technology industries in the U.S. and Europe. Comau, a former unit of Fiat, specialises in industrial automation and advanced robotics.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said the deal would help Comau achieve autonomy and strengthen its position.

"It also gives Stellantis the ability to focus on core business activities in Europe," Tavares added.

A Comau spin-off from Stellantis was part of agreements between Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA, which led to the creation of Stellantis at the beginning of 2021, but the transaction had never materialised.

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari in Milan and Giuseppe Fonte in Rome; editing by Bernadette Baum and Keith Weir)