Fiat SpA share price up, CEO Marchionne sees merger potential

The Chief Executive Officer of Fiat SpA – Mr. Sergio Marchionne shared that he sees potential to create a new leader in the auto industry after the merger with Chrysler is completed.

Mr. Marchionne said in a joint interview with Chairman John Elkann, which was cited by Bloomberg: “There is room to create one guy which will be bigger. The industry needs it, as it’s still very fragmented for the amount of capital required to develop and produce new vehicles.”

Fiats Chief Executive Officer said he intends to leave the company after implementing a strategic turnaround plan through 2018. He took over Fiat a decade ago and managed to increase the Italy-based car makers revenue three times during his reign. After he steps down, Mr. Marchionnes responsibilities could be split among more than one executive of the company.

As reported by Bloomberg, Mr. Marchionne said last week in an interview: “I’ll undoubtedly do something else. I am not going to do any more turnarounds. I’m done; let some of the young punks do it.” He also added: “There are a number of things that the next CEO will do which are totally different from what I do. The role as presently configured will have to be reconfigured.”

The deal between Fiat and Chrysler is expected to be finalized on October 12th after its conditions were met. The shares of the new entity called Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The listing has been approved by both companies. Fiat revealed that the merger got the approval of its creditors.

Fiat SpA added 0.21% to trade at €7.26 per share at 08:14 GMT in Milan, marking a one year change of +16.44%. The company is valued at €9.06 billion based on Wednesdays close. According to the Financial Times, the 25 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Fiat SpA have a median target of €7.10, with a high estimate of €10.50 and a low estimate of €4.00. The median estimate represents a -2.00% decrease from the previous close of €7.25.