Marchionne Looks to Acquire Full Chrysler Ownership

Sergio Marchionne, who serves as CEO of both Fiat FIATY and Chrysler, is looking buy 6 percent of the company from the US Treasury, which would lead to majority control, according to the Wall Street Journal. The Wall Street Journal also reports that the firm hopes to buy a stake held by the Canadian government.

The acquisition of these stakes indicates the possibility of an IPO of the Chrysler Fiat combination within the year. Before a possible offer, Fiat will likely try to buy a huge stake from a United Auto Workers Trust; if this deal goes through, an IPO may not be neccessary.

According to the Wall Street Journal, Marchionne would like to work out details of the deal with the Treasury Department to acquire its stake before June 3rd, when Obama will visit a Chrysler manufacturing plant. This gives a limited amount of time for both parties to work with investment banks to find a settlement price.

If Chrysler does once again go public, this would be the first time it is traded since 2007. In its 2010 IPO, General Motors raised over 20 billion dollars, a figure not drastically greater than the Fiat Chrysler combination may hope to raise.

Shares of Fiat closed at $7.06 on Friday.