MUMBAI, NOV 14: After months of bitter wrangling, Premier Automobiles and Automobiles Peugeot will finally conclude their negotiations for an out-of-court settlement next week. PAL officials say they will make an announcement before the next scheduled hearing at the Mumbai High Court on November 21."We have finished 90 per cent of all our pending issues. We are presently working on various payments made by the dealers to both the companies. If everything goes as per schedule, we will get over with all the legal issues and take shareholders permission in the extraordinary general meeting scheduled for November 26," say PAL officials.On its part, Peugeot of France has already decided to drop the arbitration process scheduled in London against its erstwhile partner. It has also allowed Premier Auto to paint Fiat Uno models at its Kalyan plant. This is considered as a major climbdown on behalf of Peugeot and sends signals that it plans to compromise and get on with its business.With its legal fracas with Premier over, the French auto firm is now planning to inject more funds into its Indian venture to restructure its entire organisation. PAL's 32 per cent stake in PAL-Peugeot will come down considerably as the French automaker plans to pump around Rs 60 crore into the ailing car company as equity and give the company a controlling stakePeugeot has also decided to concentrate on launching new models. The company had earlier shortlisted a pick-up van called `Partner' for a launch in the Indian market.Meanwhile, Premier has started work on its joint venture with Fiat Auto. When cleared by the shareholders and FIs, PAL would be transferring its Kurla plant to the new JV company.
