Fiat increases Chrysler stake to 25 percent
Fiat has announced it has raised its ownership stake in Chrysler from 20 percent to 25 percent. Fiat boss, Sergio Marchionne, talks of preparing an Initial Public Offering (IPO) as well, which could hit the market by the end of this year.
The increase from 20 to 25 percent was made at no cost to Fiat as it was a part of the initial plan that was set up by the US Treasury and Fiat. This plan, settled in June last year, was established to bail Chrysler out of bankruptcy. Now that Chrysler Group LLC is on the repair and growing, the deal allows Fiat to increase its stake accordingly.
Fiat has said future talks with Wall Street bankers have been planned with the aim to refinance Chrysler's debt and prepare the company's IPO. Sergio Marchionne told Reuters Insider recently,
"We have spent some time with the financial institutions the last two or three months and we are going to get into a much deeper discussion in the first quarter of 2011 as to how to get that done.
"I am expecting that by the second quarter of this year we will have a plan that we can announce."
Reports say an IPO could be introduced by the end of 2011.
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