PSA Group acquires Opel & Vauxhall brands from GM for €1.3 bn

The PSA Group has announced the acquisition of the Opel and Vauxhall brands from General Motors for a sum of 1.3 billion Euros. The French automotive group has also acquired GM Financial’s European operations for 0.9 billion Euros.

The PSA Group, which also owns the Peugeot and Citroen brands, now claims to be the second largest car maker in Europe with a market share of 17%. The Opel and Vauxhall brands generated a revenue of 17.7 billion Euros in 2016. The acquisition of these brands has thus helped the PSA Group to overtake the Renault-Nissan Alliance and take the second spot in the European passenger vehicle market. On the other hand, the sale of the Vauxhall and Opel brands is likely to take General Motors out of the list of top 3 automakers across the world.

The PSA Group is aiming to generate annual synergies of 1.7 billion Euros from the two newly acquired brands by 2026. The French automaker will also be trying to generate an operating profit from the Opel brand, which is currently a loss-making vertical.