Chrysler just got a lot more Italian.
Bloomberg business news reports that Fiat SpA, which already owns 58.5 percent of Chrysler, agreed to buy the remaining stake in Chrysler Group LLC from a United Auto Workers retiree health-care trust.
The deal amount: $4.35 billion.
It's the final step before the Italian and U.S. carmakers can merge, Bloomberg reports.
Bloomberg writes:
Full ownership of Auburn Hills-based Chrysler will enable Marchionne to create a global industry player with better scale to challenge General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG. He has tried since taking the helm at Fiat in 2004 to buy a competitor to give the struggling Italian manufacturer a worldwide market strategy for growth. Marchionne estimated in June that Fiat and Chrysler combined would be the world’s seventh largest carmaker.
