ROME, May 3 (UPI) -- The chief executive of Fiat SpA will outline plans this week in Berlin for joining with Chrysler LLC and General Motors Europe, analysts said.
The Financial Times reported Sunday that Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne is expected to announce Monday plans to create a new publicly traded European car company. He is seeking to separate Fiat Auto from its other divisions, and join them with Opel/Vauxhall, Saab, and GM's other European operations, the report said.
"From an engineering and industrial point of view, this is a marriage made in heaven," Marchionne was quoted by the newspaper as saying.
Marchionne said he hopes to have the transaction completed by the end of May, and list shares of the new company, tentatively called Fiat/Opel, by the end of the summer. He reportedly plans to ask the governments of European countries where Fiat and Opel have plants to offer the new company loan guarantees.
