(Bloomberg) -- The merged entity of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and France’s PSA Group is likely to end up with a major Chinese shareholder, with carmaker Dongfeng Motor Corp. seen hanging on to its stake in the French company.

China’s state-owned enterprises typically invest for the long term and for access to their partners’ capabilities and technologies, said Bill Russo, founder of Automobility Ltd., a Shanghai-based advisory firm. It’s unlikely Dongfeng will use PSA and Fiat Chrysler’s planned merger as an exit opportunity, he said.

“Chinese SOEs need the capability pipelines from foreign partners to stay relevant in a market that requires complex vehicle and systems technology integration skills that they generally lack,” Russo said.

Dongfeng got its 12% holding in PSA as part of a 2014 deal that gave struggling PSA better access to the Chinese market, a stake currently valued at about $3 billion. After a completion of PSA and Fiat Chrysler’s 50-50 merger, Dongfeng could own about 6% of the new entity.

A representative for Dongfeng declined to comment.

Dongfeng’s access to Fiat Chrysler’s assets through the merger is unlikely to be a major worry for U.S. authorities, Russo said. That’s because the Italian-American carmaker doesn’t have a “high-tech profile” that would risk a transfer of strategic technology to China, he said.

Still, Yale Zhang, founder of consultancy AutoForesight Shanghai Co., said such “non-auto industry elements” make it harder to predict whether Dongfeng will remain a shareholder.

To contact Bloomberg News staff for this story: Tian Ying in Beijing at ytian@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Young-Sam Cho at ycho2@bloomberg.net, Ville Heiskanen, Angus Whitley

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