Renault SA Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard said Sept. 24 that the carmaker's attempted merger with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV is off the table for the time being, Reuters reported.
"This matter is behind us today. ... If [the project] were to come back one day on terms and conditions that would be acceptable for all parties I'd be delighted. But it's not in the works," Senard reportedly told a French senate hearing.
Senard echoed Renault CEO Thierry Bolloré's statement to reporters at the Frankfurt auto show earlier this month. "We are not talking to each other, this is in the past, the offer was on the table, it's no longer on the table," Bolloré reportedly said.
In August, Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley told the Financial Times that the Italian-American carmaker was open to revisiting the proposed merger of equals as it offered "significant synergies."
"Should the circumstances change, then maybe dreams come together and things can happen," Manley said at the time.
The 50/50 merger would have created the third-largest carmaker by production with combined annual revenue of nearly €170 billion and a market cap of about €36.79 billion, based on their present valuations.
Fiat Chrysler walked away from the deal in June, less than two weeks after it was announced, citing "political conditions in France." The French state owns 15% of Renault.
