Fiat To Pay $3.65B For Remaining Chrysler Shares

DETROIT (AP) - Italian automaker Fiat SpA says it has an agreement to acquire the remaining shares of Chrysler for $3.65 billion in payments to a union-controlled trust fund.

Fiat already owns 58.5 percent of Chrysler's shares, with the remaining 41.5 percent held by a United Auto Workers union trust fund that pays health care bills for retirees.

Under the deal, Fiat will make an initial payment of $1.9 billion to the fund, plus an additional $1.75 billion upon closing the deal.

Chrysler will also make additional payments totaling $700 million to the fund.

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of both Fiat and Chrysler, has long sought acquire the union's shares in order to combine the two companies. The deal eliminates the need for an initial public offering of the trust fund's stake.

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