Obama Hails “Milestone” as Chrysler Pays Back Loan Six Years Early
According to Corriere della Sera,White House’s satisfaction. CEO Marchionne: “promise made good”. Fiat’s holding in US automaker rises to 46%.
MILAN – Six years ahead of schedule, Chrysler has paid back with interest all of the $7.6 billion borrowed from the US and Canadian governments. The announcement came from the Detroit-based car manufacturer. Chrysler’s debt comprised a $5.9 billion-dollar loan from the US government and $1.7 billion from Canada.
NOTE – “Less than two years ago, we made a commitment to repay the U.S. and Canadian taxpayers in full and today we made good on that promise”, pointed out Chrysler’s CEO, Sergio Marchionne in the Detroit-based carmaker’s announcement. “The loans gave us a rare second chance to demonstrate what the people of this company can deliver and we owe a debt of gratitude to those whose intervention allowed Chrysler Group to re-establish itself as a strong and viable carmaker”. Mr Marchionne went on to say that when two companies merge, they share everything from industrial skills and resources to projects, goals, challenges and ambitions. But, said the Fiat CEO, the most important thing is a shared vision and shared values like justice, integrity, honesty, respect for others, the pursuit of excellence, reliability and the spirit of competition. According to Mr Marchionne, these values are now a “core part” of the corporate philosophy. “But I am confident about our future because we are moving forward with clarity of purpose and we share the same vision and aspiration as to what we would like our company to become. Not the biggest, just the best”, concluded the Fiat-Chrysler CEO.
OBAMA’S PRAISE – The president of the United States, Barack Obama, welcomed Chrysler’s pay-back six years ahead of time: “It’s a milestone”, said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
FIAT’S CHRYSLER INVESTMENT GROWS – Fiat later announced that it had exercised its option to buy a further 16% stake in Chrysler, bringing the Turin group’s holding to 46%. The figure will rise to more than 51% by the end of the year.
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