French-automaker PSA Group has received approval from the European Union antitrust authorities for the acquisition of Opel and Vauxhall brands from General Motors.
Through the acquisition, PSA plans to make profitable growth not only in the European market, but also around the world.
Although, PSA received permission for the acquisition, yet the company has not disclosed the date by which the acquisition could be completed.
Groupe PSA programs and group strategy manager Patrice Lucas said: “Today, we have taken a substantial step. The teams are now focused on the achievement of all other conditions necessary for the closing, planned for later this year.”
The acquisition also includes GM Financial’s European operations by BNP Paribas by the automaker. Approval for this acquisition from the EU antitrust authorities is yet to be received and is expected in the second half of this year.
The €2.2bn acquisition was announced back in this March and the acquisition is expected to establish PSA as the second largest automaker after Volkswagen, with a market share of 17%.
Recently, PSA Group had appointed Michael Lohscheller as the next Opel/Vauxhall CEO.
Back in March this year, when the acquisition was announced, PSA managing board chairman Carlos Tavares said: “We are proud to join forces with Opel/Vauxhall and are deeply committed to continuing to develop this great company and accelerating its turnaround.
“We respect all that Opel/Vauxhall’s talented people have achieved as well as the company’s fine brands and strong heritage. We intend to manage PSA and Opel/Vauxhall capitalizing on their respective brand identities.
“Having already created together winning products for the European market, we know that Opel/Vauxhall is the right partner. We see this as a natural extension of our relationship and are eager to take it to the next level.”
