On Monday, Canadian officials, led by Federal Minister of Finance Jim Flaherty, visited the Brampton Assembly Plant, as a sort of a thank you for the fast repayment of the loan Canada provided for Chrysler when it needed it in 2009.
After the usual exchange of formalities, Sergio Marchionne cut right to the chase and told the Finance Minister that his company would very much want to be in full control of Chrysler, and that he is willing to buy the 1.7 percent owned by Canada.
Unlike the US government, which has proven to be more than happy to rid itself of Chrysler, the Canadians are playing hard to get, and said that they would rather wait and see how things play out in the US before taking any decisions.
Currently, Fiat controls 46 percent of Chrysler, and will increase that to 52 percent once it gets its hands on the American's stake. By the end of the year, and without buying the Canadian piece of the pie, the Italians plan to take their percentage to 57 percent.
Apparently, nothing can and nothing wants to stop Fiat from taking over, officially (unofficially, Fiat has been running the Chrysler show ever since 2009). Marchionne has proven to be a worthy leader, the company is on a rebound and the plans for the future are more than elaborate.
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