Fiat rethinks alliance with Chrysler after IPO filing

[dipsydoodle]

Source: Reuters

(Reuters) - Chrysler Group LLC was forced to file paperwork for an IPO by its second-biggest shareholder on Monday, escalating a spat with main owner Fiat SpA (FIA.MI) which said it could scale back its commitment to the U.S. automaker.

Fiat, which owns 58.5 percent of Chrysler, wants to take full control and buy out the rest of the stock owned by the United Auto Workers trust fund, but has balked at the more $5 billion being demanded.

In response, the UAW trust exercised a right enshrined in Chrysler's 2009 government-financed bankruptcy to go forward with an initial public offering, stepping up pressure on Sergio Marchionne, chief executive of both automakers, to reach a deal.

Bankers and analysts view the filing as a move by the UAW trust to extract a better offer from Fiat and many wager an IPO will never take place.

Read more: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/09/24/us-ua-autos-chrysler-idUKBRE98M18020130924

[90-percent]

1. fiat

they seem like they know how to run a car company and the upper mgmt seems to be real car guys.

they should do a production run reproducing the 1957 392 hemi engine. my front engine nostalgia nitro dragster buds could use a fresh supply!

-90% Jimmy

[MrTriumph]

2. Say what? Fiat has bungled

Fiat bungled the introduction of the Made-in-Mexico 500. It was the worst new automobile introduction since the Edsel. Fiat dealerships, which Fiat calls "studios", have been fighting for survival.

And the new Dodge Dart II, a rebadged Alfa that Fiat claims is "all new", has been a big flop.

And if that's not bad enough, the newly introduced 500 4-door is made in a rebuilt Serbian Yugo factory the US bombed to the ground.

[Omaha Steve]

3. For the UAW trust

K&R!