Pirelli delays board resolutions 'to address US market challenges'

Milan, Italy – Pirelli & C. SpA has postponed key board resolutions and rescheduled its annual shareholder meeting citing efforts to address US market regulations.

The board of directors met on 27 March and approved a proposal by CEO Andrea Casaluci to defer decisions, originally set for that meeting, by a month.

As a result, the company’s annual shareholder meeting will now take place on 12 June, instead of the previously scheduled 27 May, Pirelli announced 27 March.

In a statement after the board meeting, Casaluci said Pirelli’s management is working to find "a solution that will allow the company to adapt to the new regulations of the American market."

Among the issues facing Pirelli in the region are those around its largest shareholder Chinese group Sinochem, which currently holds a 37% stake in the Milan tire group.

In particular, the Washington administration is increasingly intensifying its scrutiny of and restrictions on China-linked software and hardware being used on US roads.

In 2023, the Italian government exercised its ‘golden power’ rule, forcing Pirelli to reduce major shareholder Sinochem’s influence on the tire maker.

At the time, the Rome government said the decision was made to protect Pirelli’s “strategic assets”, including “cyber sensors that are implanted in tires.”

The sensors, it said, are able to collect vehicle data concerning, among other things, road conditions, geolocation and the state of the infrastructures.