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Chrysler-Fiat Deal Back On Track

YESTERDAY IT SEEMED that Chrysler’s bid to shack up with a Fiat-led consortium and to commence its Government-ordered reorganisation was in jeopardy, with three Indiana-based pension funds lodging an appeal with the US Supreme Court alleging the Chrysler


YESTERDAY IT SEEMED that Chrysler's bid to shack up with a Fiat-led consortium and to commence its Government-ordered reorganisation was in jeopardy, with three Indiana-based pension funds lodging an appeal with the US Supreme Court alleging the Chrysler-Fiat deal was illegal.

As a result the US Supreme Court put a hold on Chrysler's sale while it considered the pension funds' appeal. It has now turned down the pension funds' request for the intervention of the court to block the deal with Fiat, ruling the pension funds' claim "too insignificant" to derail the acquisition.

In all likelihood, the appeal launched by the Indiana pension funds probably wouldn't have posed a serious risk to the Chrysler-Fiat deal.

Initial fears were that if the appeal dragged out beyond June 15, Fiat would walk away from the table and leave Chrysler stranded. However late yesterday the Italian automaking conglomerate gave the assurance that that would not be the case.

Pending any further hiccups, Chrysler should soon be jointly owned by Fiat SpA, a trust set up by the United Auto Workers union and the US and Canadian governments.

Despite its sale being the only way for the American automaker to avoid liquidation, it won't be without its pains either.

Chrysler has this week won approval of a Federal Bankruptcy judge to ditch some 789 dealerships across the USA in order to constrain costs. The affected dealers won't be able to sell or service any Chrysler vehicles, and all unsold Chrysler group cars will be redistributed around the rest of the company's USA dealer network.

Present Australian operations for both Chrysler and Fiat remain unchanged, however we'll be keeping a close eye on any future developments. Will you soon be able to service your Alfa at the same place you service your Jeep? Watch this space.

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