Merger speculation is to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles as cold is to winter or, to keep with the automotive analogies, publicity is to Tesla.
For years now, FCA has been the ultimate automotive matchmaker fantasy.
The rumored or suggested suitors in recent weeks have had significant European pedigrees, but past merger talk for FCA has also focused heavily on Asia.
Early last year, as journalists descended on Detroit for the 2018 North American International Auto Show, the Free Press asked a question, which highlighted the assumptions about FCA's needs _ "Is Fiat Chrysler's future Chinese ownership?"
FCA's legendary CEO Sergio Marchionne, who died unexpectedly last summer, sounded definitive in his denial at a press conference later that week.
But the question did not come in a vacuum.
The focus on a potential Chinese acquisition of the entire company or a key brand such as Jeep had followed sometimes-intense reporting over previous months listing several possible interested firms, including Great Wall and Volvo-owner Geely. Even then, the U.S. political ramifications of a deal involving such an iconic American brand as Jeep and a Chinese entity would have been a challenge, and that has not changed.
The truth is merger and acquisition speculation about the Italian-American automaker never really ends.
In recent weeks, the flavors of the day have been PSA Groupe, which owns France's Peugeot, and even Renault-Nissan, which would seem to have more than enough drama dealing with the fallout from the ouster of leader Carlos Ghosn over alleged financial misdeeds, which he has denied. Looking back, it's almost easier to count the number of companies that have not been linked as possible candidates to merge with or acquire FCA than to name those not on the set of the automotive world's version of "The Bachelor."
It's an interesting time to weigh the likelihood that the Detroit Three's international representative might change ownership, tie up with someone else or sell off its pieces, but certainty on this seems as difficult to achieve as ever.
FCA board Chair John Elkann last week issued a letter to shareholders of Exor, the holding company for the Fiat founding Agnelli family and the power behind FCA, stressing what appears to be continuity.
"Our permanence in the capital of FCA has given its successive leadership teams the latitude to plan for the long term rather than having to react to daily pressures. This has made courageous and original decisions possible that have also respected the enduring interests of all our stakeholders. This approach and mindset remain as relevant to us today as ever and our commitment to FCA and to participating in its bold and profitable future is also unchanged," wrote Elkann, who is also chair and CEO of Exor.
Those comments followed a flurry of news stories during the Geneva Auto Show about a possible tie-up between PSA Groupe and FCA.
