There are thirteen days left before the closing of the public takeover offer through which India's Tata Motors aims to acquire the entire share capital of Iveco Group. The deadline is set for 26 October and, ahead of this important date, the Indian manufacturer attended a meeting convened by Italy's Ministry of Enterprises on 13 October to outline its intentions for Iveco's Italian plants. The meeting was also attended by Minister Adolfo Urso and national trade union representatives. Girish Wagh, head of the Indian group's commercial vehicles division, reiterated Italy's central industrial and technological role, while Iveco chief executive Olof Persson confirmed the 2026 investment plan for Turin, Foggia, Suzzara and Brescia.
At the ministry, Wagh highlighted Iveco's plants, technological expertise and national supplier network, adding that Tata's investment horizon extends beyond the two years covered by the non-financial guarantees. The investments confirmed by Persson total €76 million. The largest allocation is for Turin, with €35 million, followed by Foggia with €15 million, Suzzara with €14 million and Brescia with €12 million. In Foggia, this comes on top of €37 million already invested by Fpt Industrial to relocate production of the F5 engine. Those funds were spent previously and are therefore not part of the 2026 programme.
As for the period following the takeover offer, Fim-Cisl, which attended the meeting, reported that Tata had expressed its willingness to make further investments, although no amounts, deadlines or locations were specified. Minister Urso described Iveco as a strategic asset for Italian industry and called for the commitments to translate into a concrete industrial revival. He also referred to the Government's use of its special golden power provisions to protect patents, employment and Iveco's Italian operational headquarters, as well as to its monitoring of compliance with the conditions imposed on the transaction.
On the trade union side, Fim welcomed the confirmation of the existing industrial structure and Italy's role, but wants the statements to be followed by verifiable, long-term commitments. Gianluca Ficco, representing Uilm, called for a new industrial development plan covering all Italian plants and further talks in the near future. Fiom took a more critical stance: Samuele Lodi and Ciro D'Alessio called for guarantees extending beyond two years on employment, production and research and development. They expressed concerns about rationalisation and cost-cutting, pointing out that, despite the geographical complementarity between the two groups, their businesses may overlap in light commercial vehicles, heavy commercial vehicles and powertrains, with potential future consequences for Italian facilities. The metalworkers' union affiliated with Cgil also raised concerns about the financial structure of the offer, which it says is funded entirely through bank loans that must be repaid or refinanced within a year.
The next step is Iveco's extraordinary general meeting on 16 October, when shareholders will vote on resolutions connected with the offer. The outcome will determine the minimum acceptance threshold: the offer document sets it at 95% of the share capital, but automatically reduces it to 80% if shareholders approve the resolution concerning the transactions to follow the offer.
P.R.
