Fiat Chrysler CEO Mike Manley sold over a quarter of his shares in FCA just one day after the company announced it made an official merger proposal to Renault. Manley declared the sale in a filing to the Dutch financial market authority AFM, since FCA is a Dutch-registered corporation, AutoNews reports.
FCA and Renault saw their share prices jump with the announcement of the merger proposal, with Fiat Chrysler gaining 8 percent, to 12.37 euros ($13.85), in Milan and Renault by 12 percent, to 56.03 euros ($62.43,) in Paris.
Manley’s filing to the AFM declares the sale of 250,000 shares at an average price of $13.85, for a total value of $3.5 million. A spokeswoman for FCA said that Manley sold the shares to “cover a personal financial obligation”.
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Fiat Chrysler’s CEO held off carrying out the transaction until after the official announcement of the merger proposal, in order to avoid violating insider-trading restrictions, according to another company spokesman.
FCA’s proposal to Renault didn’t detail how the potential merged car makers would be governed, with reports suggesting that current FCA Chairman John Elkann could chair the new company, with Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard to assume the position of CEO and Manley being appointed as COO.
When Manley became CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, he received 1,388,582 shares as one-time grants and as part of the company’s incentive programs. This isn’t the first time he offloads his shares, as he sold 346,423 of them in various transactions from March 14 to March 22, and then 97,753 on May 9.
So far Manley has sold almost half (694,176) of the shares he received, for almost $10 million, excluding income taxes or any fees related to the transaction.
