SAO PAULO (Reuters) - Stellantis said on Friday it is buying a 70% controlling stake in Brazilian automotive services firm DPaschoal, in the automaker's latest move to expand its presence in Latin America.
Stellantis did not provide details of how much it paid for the stake.
The carmaker, which had focused on selling auto parts to its own car stores in Brazil, will expand its presence in Latin America's largest economy through the acquisition. DPaschoal's has 123 stores and 2,800 employees in the country, the companies said in a presentation.
The deal comes as U.S. auto parts retailer AutoZone (NYSE:AZO) has also been expanding its presence in Brazil with new store openings, and it follows Stellantis' acquisition of a controlling stake in Argentina's auto components chain Norauto last year.
The "auto parts market is very dispersed in Brazil", Stellantis components and services vice-president for South America Paulo Solti told journalists.
With the "DPaschoal acquisition, which is number two in the sector, we become the largest auto parts distributor in Brazil and Latin America", he said.
Emanuele Cappellano, Stellantis president for South America, added that DPaschoal's annual revenue is about 2.5 billion reais ($507.87 million), which is slightly less than the Stellantis' MOPAR components operations in the country.
($1 = 4.9225 reais)