Chrysler Feud Triggers IPO Filing:

Chrysler Feud Triggers IPO Filing:

Chrysler has filed IPO paperwork to sell up to $100M in stock, as the 58.5% owner Fiat, and the United Auto Workers union health trust can’t agree on the value of the latter’s 41.5% stake. The trust is looking to maximize the value of its shares so it can pay medical benefits for current and future Chrysler retires, while Fiat wants to own the entire company outright. UAW health-care trust holds this minority stake in Chrysler as part of the automaker’s 2009 government-led bankruptcy restructuring. As part of this deal, Fiat saved Chrysler from possible liquidation. Fit now looks to Chrysler’s successful truck and SUV lines in the U.S. to bolster Fiat whole it overhauls unprofitable European operations. This whole IPO may actually be an act of brinksmanship to galvanize the sides to strike a deal and shares may never be sold to the public. As Andrew Brandt says, deadlines spur action.