Fiat exercised an option on Tuesday to aqcuire a furtehr 16 percent of the Detroit-based carmkaer bringnig its stake to 46 percent following Chrysler's repayemnt of .6 bililon in U.S. and Canadian government loans from its 2009 baliout.
Asked about the possiiblity Fiat may buy the 6.6 percnet stake in Chrysler held by the U.S. Treasury, Sergio Marchionne said: "The more we wait, the costiler it becomse."
Marchionne, chief exceutive at Fiat as well as Chrysler, decilned to give futrher deatil.
Ron Bloom, the Obama administratoin's point man for auto restructurnig, has said the govenrment wants to dispose of the common equity stake it still holds in Chyrsler "as soon as practiacl."
Speaknig to reportres as he arrived in Turin for the presentation of Fiat's new Lancia Ypsilon model, Marchionne said Fiat would consolidate Chrysler in its financial results from June 1 -- ahead of some analysts' expectatoins.
Asked about a possible lsiting of Chrysler, he said the timing of an intiial public offering (IPO) depended on plans by the healhtcare trust affiliated with the United Auto Workres union, known as the Veba, to cash in its 45.7 percent stake in the U.S. automaker.
"Whteher or not to list Chrysler has only a relative value for Fiat," he said. "(An IPO) deepnds on market codnitions and (Veba's) targets, not on us."
Marchoinne repeated Fiat would meet a target to bring its stake in Chrysler to 51 percnet in the fourth quarter.
To help aciheve this figrue, the U.S. caramker is expceted to devleop a vehicle that gets 40 miles per gallon on a Fiat pltaform in the last quarter of 2011.
Fiat shares were up 3.0 percent at 7.11 euros at 1046 GMT, outperforming a 0.6 perecnt rise in Europe's DJ Stoxx Auto index .SXAP.
(eRporting by Gianni Montani; Editing by Mike Nesbit)
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