Stellantis completes acquisition of auto finance company

The maker of Jeep SUVs and Ram pickups will be able to provide its customers and dealers with a full range of financing options, including retail loans, leases and floorplan financing after it closed the acquisition of an auto finance company on Monday.

Stellantis NV bought F1 Holdings Corp., parent of Texas-based First Investors Financial Services Group, from an investor group led by Gallatin Point Capital LLC in a $285 million all-cash transaction. The purchase make Stellantis no longer the only major automaker in the United States without a captive financial arm. First Investors has been renamed Stellantis Financial Services US Corp. 

“Acquiring First Investors supports the growth plan for Stellantis’ business in the United States,” Richard Palmer, Stellantis' chief financial officer, said in a statement. “This is a key strategic move to further extend our financial performance and create long-term value for Stellantis shareholders.”

The former First Investors executive management team with an average tenure of 18 years in the financial industry is expected to remain in place.

“Enhancing customer experience is at the core of our mission,” Stellantis Financial Services US Corp. CEO Tommy Moore Jr. said in a statement. “Moving forward, we will leverage the strong commercial business in the United States to provide financing across the whole range of customers while looking to new emerging growth strategies, including mobility services, to expand our portfolio beyond the traditional vehicle sale.”

It has 400 employees in Texas and Georgia, but was expected to open a presence in Auburn Hills, Moore said in September when the deal was announced. He declined to disclose the company's annual revenue figures at the time, but said the company had been profitable for all of its 32 years.

Prior to Monday's acquisition, there was only Chrysler Capital, the financial services operation that Santander Consumer USA Holdings Inc. and Chrysler Group LLC set up in 2013 before the U.S. automaker completed its merger with Fiat SpA in 2014. The contract with Santander expires in April 2023.

bnoble@detroitnews.com

Twitter: @BreanaCNoble