Word: fiat
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Fiat, which began a remarkable turnaround with the whopping cash payout from GM in 2005, is also struggling again, along with the rest of the auto industry, as car sales plummet amid a deepening economic crisis. Fiat has been itching to get its stylishly economic models on the market in the U.S., and the deal with Chrysler can be seen as part of a series of "strategic partnerships" it has sealed with other automakers in recent years, including one with Tata motors and a deal to build diesel engines with Daimler-Chrysler, before the breakup last year of that German...
Indeed, to understand the evolution that led to Tuesday's announcement, it is worth returning to the 2005 negotiations in which GM was forced to buy itself out of the cumbersome put option in its alliance with Fiat. The then brand-new CEO of the Turin company, Sergio Marchionne, emerged as a tough-as-nails dealmaker as he sat across the table from top GM executives. The Italian-born, Canada-raised Fiat chief told his American counterparts they would cough up the full value of the put option or battle it out in court. GM blinked, and the huge payout...
...Fiat, on the other hand, the sudden infusion of cash and the new chief executive's plans for streamlining management helped the Turin company begin a notable turnaround after its decade-long crisis and raised Marchionne to near mythical status in carmaking circles. Tuesday's joint statement notes that "Fiat would provide management services supporting Chrysler's submission of a viability plan to the U.S. Treasury as required. Fiat has been very successful in executing its own restructuring over the past several years...
...Chrysler is forced to declare bankruptcy, Fiat would be protected from losses and might even be able to acquire American assets at favorable prices in the shakeout. A senior Fiat official calls Tuesday's signature "just a start," noting that much will depend on how the U.S. auto bailout proceeds under the new Obama Administration. "This is still far from a done deal," says the official. "We've already said that with the current situation in world markets, there needs to be major consolidation in the car business, and as we've shown today, we'd like to be part...
Marchionne has recently talked about the company's becoming something of an Intel of the auto industry, providing key component parts to other car manufacturers. There are also rumors that he wants to build a $3,500 model Fiat Punto that could reconfigure the concept in the West of an economy car. But whether or not he's Chrysler's savior or the man to revolutionize the entire industry, Marchionne seems to have proved again that he knows how to strike a hard bargain: Fiat has landed 35% of Chrysler without spending a dime...