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17:33, 23-Aug-2017
Great Wall Motor stock slips after denial of bid for Jeep
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Shares of Chinese automaker Great Wall Motor fell 1.58 percent at the close of market in Shanghai on Wednesday after it said there were no talks or agreements signed with Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler to acquire its Jeep brand.
Media reports claim that Great Wall has reached out to Fiat about buying Jeep. The weekly auto newspaper Automotive News first reported it Monday by quoting an email from the company's president Wang Fengying.
The reports increased Fiat shares, but also raised questions over Great Wall's ability to buy the larger Fiat, or Jeep, which is valued at as much as 1.5 times more than Fiat, Reuters reported.
An attendee looks at a WEY brand VV5 sports utility vehicle (SUV), manufactured by Great Wall Motor Co., at the Auto Shanghai 2017 vehicle show in Shanghai, China, on April 19, 2017. /VCG Photo
An attendee looks at a WEY brand VV5 sports utility vehicle (SUV), manufactured by Great Wall Motor Co., at the Auto Shanghai 2017 vehicle show in Shanghai, China, on April 19, 2017. /VCG Photo
Fiat's revenue in 2016 was 131 billion US dollars, which is almost nine fold of Great Wall's revenue of 15 billion US dollars last year, according to Reuters.
Great Wall suspended trading Tuesday in both Shanghai and Hong Kong, pending the release of an announcement after a thorough investigation to clarify the press articles.
In a Tuesday filing to Hong Kong Stock Exchange, the company confirmed its studies on Fiat, but clarified there was "no concrete progress" on the studies.
"The Company has not built any relationship with the directors of FCA (Fiat) nor has the Company entered into any discussion or signed any agreements with any officer of FCA so far," it added.
Great Wall resumed trading on Wednesday in Shanghai, while the stock market in Hong Kong is closed due to Typhoon Hato.