Fiat Chrysler Raises $3.9 Billion in Share, Bond Offerings
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said today that it was able to raise $3.89 billion before expenses from the sale of 100 million shares of stock and a separate bond offering, reported Detroit Free Press.
The sale of the stock and bonds will give the automaker much needed capital that it can use to pay down debt and fund an aggressive expansion plan.
FCA said it raised $1.07 billion through the sale of common shares at $11 each. The shares were previously held by the company in its treasury shares. The company also said it raised $2.8 billion from the sale of bonds that will be converted into Fiat Chrysler shares of stock by Dec. 15, 2016.
The automaker announced the completion of the share and bond offerings on the same day that it announced name changes for its two main subsidiaries, Chrysler Group and Fiat Group.
Chrysler Group has been renamed FCA US LLC and Fiat Group has been renamed FCA Italy SpA.
"This has been a transformational year for FCA," Sergio Marchionne, CEO of FCA said in a statement. "The completion of these offerings marks another crucial step in establishing FCA as a global automaker with the capitalization to compete effectively with the world's largest automakers. We look forward to continuing to execute our 2014-2018 Business Plan."
In May, Marchionne unveiled an ambitious five-year plan that calls for the company to invest as much as $60 billion to hit aggressive goals.
Exor, an investment company that is controlled by the Agnelli family, purchased bonds valued at $886 million aggregate. That investment will preserve its approximately 30% ownership of FCA. Exor will own about 29.5% of FCA's shares after the completion of the offerings. John Elkann, chairman of FCA, also is chairman of Exor.
FCA's stock was trading at $11.52 per share on Tuesday, up 11 cents, or 1%. The company's stock also is up 29% from its close of $8.92 on Oct. 13 — its first day of trading on the New York Stock Exchange.
Fiat became the 100% owner of Chrysler in January. In October, the company officially cleared all regulatory hurdles that allowed it to register the newly formed company in the Netherlands and establish a global headquarters in London. The company was renamed Fiat Chrysler Automobiles on Oct. 12.
The company said it paid underwriting commissions of $33 million to cover the cost of the share offering and also incurred underwriting expenses for the bond offering.
The firms that were involved in the stock and bond offerings included: J.P. Morgan Securities, Goldman Sachs, Barclays Capital, UBS Securities, Citigroup Global Markets, BofA Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.
More Industry

World EV Adoption Set to Grow
A new report says the segment, despite recent setbacks in some regions, is poised for acceleration as many countries look to reduce pollution.
Read More →
Black Book: Weekly Market Update
Wholesale automotive auction business stayed steady last week as bidders encountered lower prices, analysts observed.
Read More →
Pricing Transparency Drives Purchase Consideration
An annual study by JD Power found that clear pricing matters to consumers on automaker websites, so much so that it increases their purchase consideration.
Read More →
Black Book: Weekly Market Update
Used-vehicle market depreciation was the prevailing story in the wholesale market last week.
Read More →
Smaller Is Looking Better
A growing number of Americans in the market for a new vehicle are opting for more affordable options, not waiting for market stability to bite the bullet.
Read More →
U.S. EV Market Slowly Stabilizes
U.S. electric-vehicle interest is slowly stabilizing since a major dip in sales after last year's end of the federal EV tax credit, and hybrids remain the leading electrified power train.
Read More →
Global EV Market Entering New Phase
Automakers are making investments to lower battery costs and optimize production to meet changing consumer needs.
Read More →
Black Book Weekly Market Update
The holiday weekend, not surprisingly, put a drag on wholesale automotive activity last week, analysts observed.
Read More →
Auto Affordability in Context
Cox Automotive points out the complex circumstances that have led to eye-popping vehicle prices.
Read More →
Black Book: Weekly Market Update
Automotive auction inventory increased last week, giving choosy bidders even more leeway.
Read More →