PSA Peugeot Citroen Chief Executive Officer Philippe Varin said the company will seek partnerships with other car companies as it looks to grow and become more international.
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He told shareholders today: “If internal growth isn’t enough, we won’t hesitate to seize opportunities for external growth,” Varin took over as CEO at the beginning of this week.
The Peugeot family, which controls the company, has previously said it would be willing to reduce its 30 percent stake in a tie-up with another automaker, provided it can remain the biggest shareholder although a spokesman told Bloomberg News that the Peugeots are “ready to examine the question” of a possible dilution in the holding.
PSA said two years ago that there were “no taboos” about a possible reduction in the Peugeots’ stake although this is the first time the family has commented directly on the subject.
Already analysts are speculating that Fiat SpA, having failed last week to win Germany’s backing for its bid for GM’s Opel unit, may be a potential partner for PSA. Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said in January that many in the industry view a Fiat-Peugeot combination as a “marriage made in heaven.” Fiat is currently buying most of the assets of Chrysler LLC.
Varin said Peugeot needs to “reinforce its presence” in markets with high growth potential and build on the one-third of revenue it generated outside Europe in 2008.
Last month Varin criticised his predecessor Christian Streiff, in a company newsletter suggesting that the former CEO’s recovery plan might not be enough to get Europe’s second-biggest automaker through the global economic slump.
