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Fiat Chrysler begins Magneti Marelli spinoff

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler has kicked off its planned spinoff of parts maker Magneti Marelli, which will be registered in the Netherlands and listed on the Milan stock exchange, a document outlining initial plans and seen by Reuters showed. The spinoff is part of a plan by FCA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne to "purify" the Italian-American carmaker's portfolio and to unlock value at Magneti Marelli similar to his earlier spinoff of Ferrari. Analysts say Magneti Marelli could be worth between 3.6 billion and 5 billion euros ($4.2 billion to $5.8 billion). It sits within FCA's components unit alongside robotics specialist Comau and castings firm Teksid. FCA has created a separate entity called MM Srl, the document showed, into which it will fold Magneti Marelli's electronics and electro-mechanical operations related to racing motorbikes and racing cars, as well as 14 other holdings in various companies around the world, including Germany, Slovakia, Mexico and South Africa. MM will be incorporated into a Dutch holding company via a cross-border merger, it added. FCA declined to comment. The move follows a similar procedure adopted by FCA for the spinoff and listing of Ferrari as well as of trucks and tractor maker CNH Industrial, both registered in the Netherlands and listed in Milan. The Dutch holding company would allow Marchionne, known for his success in extracting shareholder value through this strategy, to introduce a loyalty share scheme to reward long-term investors through multiple voting rights, as was the case with CNH and Ferrari. That would tighten the grip of FCA's controlling shareholder Exor, the Agnelli family's investment holding company, on the parts maker. Magneti Marelli, which employs around 43,000 people and operates in 19 countries, is a diversified components supplier specialized in lighting, powertrain and electronics. The Magneti Marelli separation is expected to be completed by the end of this year or early 2019, FCA has said. FCA's advisers initially looked at a possible initial public offering for the business to raise cash to cut FCA's debt, but the Agnelli family — FCA's main shareholder — was put off by low industry valuations and did not want its stake in Magneti Marelli to be diluted, three sources close to the matter told Reuters in March. Magneti Marelli has often been touted as a takeover target, and FCA has fielded interest from various rivals and private equity firms over the years.

Weekly Recap: Lincoln Continental serves up the style, Cadillac CT6 delivers the substance in New York

Lincoln and Cadillac grabbed the spotlight this week at the New York Auto Show in a dramatic fashion that evoked the brands' glory days. America's two luxury carmakers went toe-to-toe with their glittering reveals and plans for ambitious expansion. Both were selling their technology, style and the promise of a better future. Cadillac vs. Lincoln. At the Javits Center, 2015 seemed a lot like 1956. Neither company was interested in drawing comparisons with the other, which is fair, and accurate. They're in vastly different places in terms of sales and the pace of their turnarounds, but they hope to reach the same eventual destination at the pinnacle of the luxury-car world. Lincoln used the element of surprise to great effect with the Continental concept. A production version is still at least a year away, and the company was vague on details. Officially, we don't even know if it is front- or rear-wheel drive, though speculation abounds. Who cares? The seats can be adjusted 30 ways! The Continental also showed off a bold chrome grille that will be the new face of Lincoln. The blue bomber also rolled on blinged-out 21-inch polished aluminum wheels, used a 3.0-liter EcoBoost engine and had huge LED head lights with "laser-assisted" high beams. All of this resulted in almost blinding attention. The concept drew rave reviews, stirred controversy with Bentley designers who argued Lincoln ripped them off, and most importantly, pointed a way forward for the newly determined brand that hopes to compete with Mercedes, BMW, Audi, Cadillac and Lexus. View 32 Photos Meanwhile, Cadillac showed the CT6, a finished product that will top its range and is loaded with the best and latest technologies General Motors has at its disposal. With production starting late this year, Cadillac had more specifics at the ready. Engines? Cadillac has a couple V6s and a turbo four for sure. It's working on a hybrid, and has considered a V-Series variant. It's based on a new rear-wheel-drive, aluminum-intensive chassis called Omega, features an advanced collision-mitigation system with automatic braking and has a cabin that's laden with "leathers, exotic woods and carbon fiber." It will be assembled at GM's Detroit-Hamtramck factory and goes on sale next year. At this point, Cadillac is more than willing to talk about every except for the price. The devil was not in the details for Cadillac, as evidenced by the CT6. But it wasn't for Lincoln either.

Stellantis invests more than $100 million in California lithium project

Stellantis said it would invest more than $100 million in California's Controlled Thermal Resources, its latest bet on the direct lithium extraction (DLE) sector amid the global hunt for new sources of the electric vehicle battery metal. The investment by the Chrysler and Jeep parent announced on Thursday comes as the green energy transition and U.S. Inflation Reduction Act have fueled concerns that supplies of lithium and other materials may fall short of strong demand forecasts. DLE technologies vary, but each aims to mechanically filter lithium from salty brine deposits and thus avoid the need for open pit mines or large evaporation ponds, the two most common but environmentally challenging ways to extract the battery metal. Stellantis, which has said half of its fleet will be electric by 2030, also agreed to nearly triple the amount of lithium it will buy from Controlled Thermal, boosting a previous order to 65,000 metric tons annually for at least 10 years, starting in 2027. "This is a significant investment and goes a long way toward developing this key project," Controlled Thermal CEO Rod Colwell said in an interview. The company plans to spend more than $1 billion to separate lithium from superhot geothermal brines extracted from beneath California's Salton Sea after flashing steam off those brines to spin turbines that will produce electricity starting next year. That renewable power is expected to cut the amount of carbon emitted during lithium production. Rival Berkshire Hathaway has struggled to produce lithium from the same area given large concentrations of silica in the brine that can form glass when cooled, clogging pipes. Colwell said a $65 million facility recently installed by Controlled Thermal can remove that silica and other unwanted metals. DLE equipment licensed from Koch Industries would then remove the lithium. "We're very happy with the equipment," he said. "We're going to deliver. There's just no doubt about it." Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares called the Controlled Thermal partnership "an important step in our care for our customers and our planet as we work to provide clean, safe and affordable mobility." Both companies declined to provide the specific investment amount. Controlled Thermal aims to obtain final permits by October and start construction of a commercial lithium plant soon thereafter, Colwell said. Goldman Sachs is leading the search for additional debt and equity financing, he added.