Chrysler plans to file documents this month that would allow its minority investor to sell shares in a stock market listing, a process that will slow Italian carmaker Fiat’s plans to take full control of the US automaker.
An initial public offering would bring to a head the ongoing battle between Sergio Marchionne, who has led both companies since Chrysler’s government-financed bankruptcy in 2009, and a healthcare trust fund affiliated with the United Auto Workers union.
The trust, a type known as a voluntary employees’ beneficiary association or VEBA, is unhappy with the price Fiat has offered for its Chrysler stake. Now, the VEBA is exercising its right to push Marchionne to take Chrysler public.
Marchionne told reporters on Friday that he expects to file the regulatory documents necessary to take Chrysler public by the end of the month - a move that he has long resisted. The IPO could happen during the first quarter of next year, he added.
Marchionne has repeatedly said he would like to avoid an IPO so Fiat take full ownership of the US automaker. An IPO could delay his plans for a full merger of the two companies.
“It’s in the interest of both parties, but of Fiat in particular, to reach an agreement before a Chrysler IPO,” said ICBPI analyst Luca Arena.
