Fiat Preparing to Accept Additional Stake in Chrysler

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Fiat’s plan to acquire the U.S. Government’s final piece of Chrysler has been set into motion, as Bloomberg reports that the company will begin testing the 40-mpg Alfa Romeo-based small car that will satisfy the government’s last criteria by the second half of this year. Having paid $5.1 billion to settle what was left of Chrysler’s debt and now in the process of buying the government’s remaining interests in the American automaker with a payment of $500 million, Fiat is expected to acquire another five percent once it begins production of the new small car in the U.S.


Once Fiat successfully completes the $500-million deal to buy the U.S. Treasury Department’s final cash-purchasable stake, the Italian automaker will raise its stake in Chrysler to 52 percent on a fully diluted basis. Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said that he expects Fiat to acquire the final five percent from the U.S. government by the end of the year, eventually raising Fiat’s stake to 57 percent.

Source: Bloomberg