Is Fiat (FCAU, $15.97) Thinking of Selling Robotics Business For Upto $2.3 Billion?

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is considering a potential sale of its robotics arm Comau at 1.5 billion euros to 2 billion euros ($1.7 billion to $2.3 billion), according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter who asked not to be named. Comau builds automated manufacturing systems and robots for industrial purposes. The anonymous sources said that the matter is still private and talks are in very early stages, while hinting that there is a possibility that a sale process  could start early next year (reported by Bloomberg).

The report comes close on the heels of Fiat’s decision in August to sell its car-parts unit Magneti Marelli for 6.2 billion euros. Is Fiat trying to concentrate more on its core business of manufacturing automobiles and therefore stepping back from some of its ancillary operations, in the wake of intensifying global trade tensions? Several multinational auto companies have indicated that their businesses are hurting due to the tariff-slapping battle and other trade conflicts between the U.S. and China this year.

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Sergey Savastiouk|Expert

Sergey Savastiouk, Ph.D. has a degree in Applied Mathematics from Moscow University and has extensive experience as an entrepreneur, investor, manager, and mathematician. His professional expertise is in applied mathematics, mathematical modeling, system and pattern analysis, and software and hardware system integration. He has served as the CEO of several hi-tech start-up companies and nonprofit organizations, which has given him proven capabilities in business strategy for high-tech start-up companies, market assessment, company formation, team building, product development, marketing, and sales. He has published numerous articles in journals and magazines on related fields. As a retail investor, he spent 15 years developing his proprietary trading and quantitative algorithms (now Tickeron’s A.I.), which brought him significant returns in trading the stock market. His current work and goal in founding Tickeron is to bring professional, sophisticated stock market analysis capabilities to retail investors via an easy-to-use interface.