Pirelli: Nokian merger rumours false

Market rumours that Pirelli is considering a €9 billion (£7.7 billion) merger with Finland’s Nokian Tyres have been quashed by company spokespeople. Reports that such a deal was on the horizon emerged in mid-January and were then fuelled by re-reporting in the British and Italian press. However, these stories are “without foundation”, according to two Milan-based Pirelli spokespeople that Tyres & Accessories interacted with. Nokian has yet to comment.

In the meantime, institutional investors in Pirelli stock such as BlackRock and AQR have reportedly increased their bets against Pirelli.

The latest merger reports follow similar rumours that Pirelli, which is majority-owned by a holding company in which ChemChina is the major shareholder, was considering Nokian last year. However, those suggestionss didn’t result in anything.

In September 2019, the former Pirelli Industrial unit (Prometeon) was also linked to takeover talk. In that case, Prometeon was linked to a potential takeover by Japanese tyremaker Yokohama. And while that deal has taken longer than initially expected, industry sources suggest this particular deal remains live.

Shareholding in Pirelli fluctuated at around the same time.