Jan 20, 2009

Fiat may take over Chrysler

Italians are poised to do to Chrysler what the German’s couldn’t.

Daimler pumped billions into Chrysler before they gave up. Now it looks like Fiat will take a turn. Will they fare any better?

In an attempt to revive two of the world's storied auto makers, Italy's Fiat SpA and Chrysler LLC are poised to announce a partnership as soon as today in which Fiat could take control of the U.S. company's operations, people familiar with the matter said.

Under terms of a pact that is being hammered out, Fiat is likely to take a 35% stake in Chrysler by the middle of this year. It would have the option of increasing that to as much as 55%, these people said.

Sergio Marchionne pulled the Italian company back from the brink of collapse since taking over in 2004. Maybe he can work the same magic on Chrysler.

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