U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration will take a look at the planned merger between Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot owner PSA, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow stated on Friday.
The deal declared on Thursday, would create the fourth-largest automaker in the world.
“We will obviously look at it very, very carefully,” Kudlow stated on Bloomberg. “The president has not commented on the deal … We’re not afraid of doing business with international companies, Lord knows.”
When inquired about the 12.2% equity stake and 19.5% voting stake China’s Dongfeng Motors has got in PSA, Kudlow stated: “With respect to the Chinese story, we obviously are alert and on guard.”
The deal, which would be structured as a 50-50 merger, making them the fourth-largest global automaker with annual sales of almost 9 million vehicles. Fiat Chrysler informed employees the deal could generate synergies of 3.7 billion euros but also stated that “these synergies are NOT based on closing plants.”
Fiat Chrysler refused to comment.
There has been speculation Dongfeng may happen to sell its holdings, which could help ease the deal’s passage via U.S. regulators, noting U.S.-Chinese trade tensions.
“We will welcome a good deal. We hope it will get more production in the United States, more factories and workers, and employment in the U.S. And with respect to the Chinese angle, we will take a careful look at it,” Kudlow stated.
Fiat Chrysler stated on Thursday that “teams at both companies are working to finalize discussions and reach a Memorandum of Understanding in the coming weeks.”
