Fiat Tells Feds It Wants to Buy Out Chrysler Stake

It’s been a very busy week for Fiat and Chrysler. For Fiat, it paid $1.3 billion for a 16% stake in Chrysler, which on Tuesday paid back the remaining $7.5 billion it owed the U.S. and Canadian governments. Today, Fiat told the U.S. Treasury it wants an option to buy the remaining 6 percent stake that the U.S. government holds in Chrysler. That purchase, should it happen, would bump Fiat to 52% ownership in Chrysler LLC and end the U.S. government’s ownership of Chrysler.

The price is still being negotiated.

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Majority control would allow Fiat to begin combining managers of the two companies. Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said this week that the two firms need to be operated by a single group of managers.”

Fiat will buy out government stake, end U.S. ownership of Chrysler (USA Today)