According to a report in the Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera, Fiat is considering selling-off a partial stake in its Ferrari unit in order to finance a take-over of Chrysler. Fiat currently owns 20 percent of the U.S. automaker.
Fiat also now owns 85 percent of Ferrari and, according to the report, will keep a controlling stake, 51 percent, even if it does go ahead and sell-off a share of the luxury Italian brand.
Fiat already has plans to raise its stake in Chrysler to 35 percent but the Italian automaker may need more cash if it is to exercise an option to take a 51 percent controlling share of the Detroit automaker. According to industry analyst Sanford C. Bernstein, Fiat is expected to take its share of Chrysler up to 51 percent by 2011 or 2012.
A spokesperson for Fiat has denied the report and earlier this month Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne, who also serves as Chrysler's CEO, said that Fiat wanted to bring its share of Ferrari up to around 90 percent. Mubadala, an Abu Dhabi-based investment group, owns 5 percent of Ferrari but Marchionne also said he doesn't want to lose the group as an investor.
