Thursday, July 14, 2011

Marchionne Says Fiat and Chrysler To Merge Management

MILAN -- Fiat SpA and Chrysler Group LLC will have a single management structure soon, Sergio Marchionne, chief executive officer of both companies, said Wednesday, as he takes another step toward merging the two car makers.
Mr. Marchionne plans to announce a unified structure "in terms of leadership pretty quickly," the executive told reporters in Zurich after a speech at the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Marchionne, 59, declined to say whether the announcement would come along with Fiat's quarterly earnings report on July 26.
Mr. Marchionne is working on management changes as he steps up the integration of the two companies. He plans to merge the carmakers to reduce costs and achieve a target of more than $140 billion in combined revenue by 2014. The executive said in May that the timing of a merger hasn't been decided yet, adding that a combination isn't likely this year.
Fiat, which was initially granted a 20 percent stake in Chrysler by the U.S. government, aims to hold 57 percent of the third-biggest U.S. automaker by the end of 2011.
The United Auto Workers union's trust will have 41.5 percent of Chrysler at that time, Fiat said.
Fiat agreed June 3 to pay $500 million for the U.S. government's remaining 6 percent stake in Chrysler, boosting its holding to 52 percent. The CEO expects to receive an additional 5 percent stake in the fourth quarter in return for developing a fuel-efficient car for Chrysler.
Source Toledo Blade

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