Maserati turned over to Fiat Auto division

This makes little sense to me. Certainly it helps Ferrari, but it puts Fiat Auto (Fiat/Lancia/Alfa) in a worse position. I have heard that it was done so an IPO can be offered for Ferrari, but why would Fiat SpA want to make it's most successful car division public, and keep Fiat Auto private?

Maybe the intent is to make only 49% of Ferrari public, the funnel the money over to Fiat Auto...

 

Where did you see that Fiat is going to strip Maser out of Ferrari?

Thx, Dale

 

I read it in the latest issue of the FML.

 

It's also in the Financial Times.It was also in the Feb.7 issue of Automotve News Europe.

 

The reality is that Fiat is hurting and badly needs the money that a Ferrari IPO could bring. I do not know what percent of Ferrari will be sold to the public but I am anxious about the affect public ownership could have on the funding of the racing program. Maybe sponsorship money covers enough of the racing program for it to not be a problem in a "public" Ferrari.

 

Fiat has posted a press release on its corporate website. I'll try to post it below. The press release does not say that Maserati has been transferred to Fiat Auto, as opposed to Fiat, but that certainly makes sense.

 

http://news.ft.com/cms/s/1c1d1c90-7fbf-11d9-8ceb-00000e2511c8.html
Fiat considers plan for shake-up at Maserati and Ferrari
By Adrian Michaels in Milan
Published: February 16 2005 02:00 | Last updated: February 16 2005 02:00

Fiat, the Italian engineering group, is considering a significant restructuring that will affect the control and management of its Ferrari and Maserati sports car marques and help boost performance at Alfa Romeo.


Maserati is wholly owned by Ferrari, which in turn is 56 per cent owned by Fiat group. Much of the rest of Ferrari is owned by Mediobanca, the Italian bank. Under the move - which could be announced within the next few days - the Fiat group is likely to buy in Maserati and move it into shared development and distribution initiatives with Alfa Romeo.

The revamp also raises the prospect of an initial public offering of Ferrari, which was considered in 2002 but rejected in favour of the sale of the stake to Mediobanca. The strategic rethink would follow Fiat's resolution this week of its dispute with General Motors over the ownership of its lossmaking Fiat Auto division, which accounts for 40 per cent of Fiat's revenues.

It would represent the first big step by Sergio Marchionne, Fiat's chief executive, to demonstrate the group's flexibility and turnround prospects after the settlement with GM. Fiat would not comment yesterday, but insiders said the details were still being worked on and an announcement could be delayed.

Maserati and Ferrari together sell 10,000 cars a year and the two units broke even in 2003. Analysts believe they will see a small loss in 2004 when the results are reported later this month. Fiat believes Maserati would be better positioned for growth if it was separated from Ferrari, in part because it could then use less costly Alfa Romeo components.

Alfa Romeo - which sells about 180,000 cars a year - is one of the few bright spots within Fiat Auto; the rest of the car division is bleeding cash at the rate of about €1bn (£690m) a year.

Alfa could benefit from Maserati's research and development spending, while the two marques could also share marketing and distribution costs. At the moment Alfa is mostly sold in Europe while Maserati uses the Ferrari dealer network in the US. Fiat could decide to relaunch Alfa in the US using that network.

Fiat first acquired half of Ferrari in 1969. Analysts said yesterday it was difficult to estimate what its stock market capitalisation could be. It has very high costs from running its Formula One team, but much of that is covered by sponsorship.

 

www.italiaspeed.com has good info aswell.

maserati and ferrari will continue their cooperation closely technically and commercially, marketing and sales network terms.

maserati and ferrari will be sold together until alfa returns to north america, something im very excited about.

 

In other words grab one of the current Maserati's, If and when this happens it will give the past few years Maserati the novelty of being the few produced under Ferrari management

 

I'll let someone else post the official press release. The release emphasizes links between Maserati and Alfa.

 

Seems very dumb to me they spent a bunch of money on maserati and now it is starting to get really good (again) they get rid of it? in regards to an ipo to me it makes a lot more financial sense to include maserati, ferrari can really only sell x number of cars a year without diluting the brand so the ability to have another revenue stream that can sell significantly more (though still exclusive) cars is a big plus. If they are going to do any reshuffling they should sell alfa to ferrari then their would be alfa -"entry" level sports cars maserati -luxury sports cars then ferrari - your "elite" level sports cars. Alot more attractive company plus it would prob be better in the long term for all three brands

 

Agreed, IPO"s are usually not about current financial picture anyway, More about growth potential and with Ferrari's limited manufacturing, not much there, Whereas Maserati could be a big plus in the future growth

 

Please excuse my ingorance, but the SpA part of Fiat SpA-- What does it mean?

 

It is called cutting losses. It turns out that most Maserati buyers are not Ferrari owners. In other words, the co-branding didn't fit the way it was intended to.

I'm sure that Maserati and Ferrari will still share production capabilities and know how because the mother ship Fiat Spa will still own the majority of both companies.

Finally, if you are going to enter your baby in a beauty contest (i.e., an IPO) wouldn't you want to remove the warts first?

Dale

 

SpA in Italy is like Inc is in the US. Fiat SpA is the parent company of Fiat Auto, Ferrari, and Luigi's misstress. Opps! I probably shouldn't have mentioned that last one.

Dale

 

To quote Kelso, "nice burn" Will us Maserati owners be cut loose from this board when it happens?

 

I doubt it. I may be sharing your pain soon.

Dale

 

this will benefit Ferrari as they can focus more on their own cars and make even better Ferrari's. rumors say a baby ferrari like a future dino should appear.

im not worried about maserati, like the deal says, ferrari and maserati will still work together strongly and share technologies and retail.

 

so change how it is sold, sell it alongside alfa, i dont want ferrari to keep maserati for sentimental reasons, the original company was long "dead" by the time i was growing up. Ferrari by its very nature had limited potential for significant growth/increased profits, they have invested alot of money into maserati and the cars are getting better and better it doesnt make sense to get rid of an asset that has alot of potential to a. make a decent profit and b. somewhat overcome ferrari's (as a seperate entity) liability of very limited production numbers (relativly)

 

None of this news matters at all to me, I could care less about who owns Maserati. All I know is I have gone thru about 2 dozen cars in my 27 years of driving and none of those car's came close to the enjoyment my Spyder has given me this past year. Have never had a car that offered such a balance of Sporty , Luxury, Exclusiveness and all for a reasonable price with the great discount's they are giving

 

I thought Maserati was supposed to take Dino's place.

I think Maser should build a model priced right between the Corvette & 911 and maybe a Boxster style Maser

I really like the current Quattroporte, I was thinking of getting one for my parents to replace their MB 500E. Do you think Maserati service, support, & parts will leave the USA like before ?

 

Story from Reuters
Fiat Moves Maserati from Ferrari Towards Alfa
Wed Feb 16, 2005 12:17 PM ET

MILAN (Reuters) - Fiat shook up its car brands on Wednesday, splitting the sleek Maserati marque from the Ferrari racing unit to link it more closely to its sporty but underperforming Alfa Romeo.

The move is widely seen as the first step in a long-awaited listing of Ferrari, whose results are being held back by losses and high investment costs at Maserati. It could also hail a foreign expansion of Alfa, famed for its Spider convertible.

"Under this deal, Alfa Romeo and Maserati will establish a close technical and commercial collaboration especially in big international markets," Fiat said in a statement.

Alfa Romeos have not been sold in the United States since 1991 and earlier plans to return to the world's largest car market by 2007 were shelved by former management as sales in Europe fell.

Fiat said Maserati would continue to work closely with Ferrari on engine technology and its commercial network.

Alfa Romeo, whose V-shaped grilles are loved by car fanatics the world over, has underperformed the market for years and last year sales fell almost 7 percent in Italy.

Fiat hired former Rolls-Royce Chief Executive Karl-Heinz Kalbfell to run Alfa, one of three brands that make up the mass market car unit Fiat Auto, from the beginning of this year. In 2004 ex-Ford executive Martin Leach took over at Maserati.

"The move is essential for Alfa Romeo's future development," Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said in a statement. "We believe that in the context of the relaunch of our car business, we need to pay close attention to the specific character of each brand.

Alfa Romeo, whose Spider was driven by Dustin Hoffman in the 1967 film "The Graduate," has much more in common style-wise with Maserati's speedsters and sleek limos than with Fiat-branded city cars and family estates.

 

agree with you Will, rather than making another Dino, maserati can make new Bora/Merak wich is rumored also, notice these are all rumors therefore the new dino mite not be.

as the article say, the dealer network wil stay the same for a whilke until maybe alfa returns therefore increasing maserati dealers.with the new coupe and spyder coming, thigs should remain the same.

ive heard of a totaly automatic version of the Qp, maybe you should try and find out about that.

 

As far as I'm aware, there is only one "stand-alone" Maserati dealership, located in Pasadena California. Maybe the intent is to set up Maserati/Alfa dealerships, but that will take a lot of money. Can an IPO bring in the kind of money needed to do this and solve the Fiat Auto division's problems?

 

At least this AP business wire story says Maserati being bought, sounds better than dumped


Fiat to Buy Maserati Brand From Ferrari
By JOJI SAKURAI, AP

ROME (AP) - Fiat SpA announced Wednesday it will buy the Maserati sportscar brand from Ferrari - a company in which it already has a majority stake - just three days after winning independence from General Motors Corp.

Turin-based Fiat said in a statement it was buying Maserati in a bid to find technological and commercial synergies to help develop its premium brand, Alfa Romeo. It declined to offer details about financial terms.

Fiat's unprofitable carmaking division, Fiat Auto, owns the Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Lancia brands. The Fiat group also has a 56 percent stake in Ferrari.

"This operation is essential for the future development of Alfa Romeo," said Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne.

On Sunday, Fiat and General Motors dissolved a partnership including an option that could have forced GM to buy the 90 percent of Fiat Auto SpA that it did not already own. GM agreed to pay the Italian automaker $2 billion, mostly in exchange for canceling the clause.

Maserati was founded in 1914 and acquired by Fiat in 1993. Ferrari took ownership of the Maserati brand in 1999.

Maserati sold 4,600 cars last year, according to Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, who is chairman of Ferrari. The company has targeted unit sales of at least 10,000 a year for the brand. Alfa Romeo sells around 180,000 units a year.

Maserati sells around a third of its production in North America, where Alfa Romeo is not present, suggesting that under Wednesday's deal Fiat may be able to improve distribution range for higher-margin products.

Fiat Auto had an operating loss of just under 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion) in 2003, and is expected to post a loss of around 800 million euros ($1.04 billion) for 2004. The unit is targeting an operating breakeven in 2006.

Dow Jones Newswires correspondent Christopher Emsden contributed to this report from Milan.


02/16/05 11:31 EST