Fiat Stake Now 53.5% Of Chrysler LLC,

Fiat SpA have just purchased the remaining US and Canadian Government stake in Chrysler LLC. and now hold a 53.5% majority shareholding in Chrysler.
Fiat SpA paid $560 million for the government's remaining 98,000 shares of Chrysler Group Llc, the U.S. Treasury Department said Thursday. Fiat has run the company since it emerged from bankruptcy protection in 2009.
U.S. taxpayers gave $12.5 billion to Chrysler and its financing arm after the recession hampered auto sales and brought Chrysler and General Motors Co. to the brink of collapse.
Under a bankruptcy deal Fiat received a 20 percent stake in Chrysler for taking over management of the Detroit carmaker. The Italian automaker has gradually raised its stake in Chrysler, and yesterday's purchase of the last U.S. shares, along with a small stake held by Canada, means Fiat owns 53.5 percent.
After cutting costs and reviving sales of Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge and Ram vehicles, the company earned net income of $116 million in the first quarter. It is forecasting profit of $200 million to $500 million this year.
Of the original Chrysler bailout, $11.2 billion has been repaid. The U.S. Treasury Department says it likely won't recover the remaining $1.3 billion. Chrysler has also repaid $5.1 billion in other loans from the government.
Fiat's stake in Chrysler is likely to rise to 58.5 percent later this year when it begins making a small car in the United States that gets 40 mpg on gas, a benchmark set by the U.S. government when Fiat took over Chrysler.