Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) makes its Wall Street debut on Monday, shifting the automaker's focus from Italy and capping a decade of dealmaking and restructuring by CEO Sergio Marchionne.
The seventh-largest auto maker in the world is hoping the U.S. listing will help establish itself as a leading global player through access to the world's biggest equity market and cheaper, more reliable source of funding it offers, according to Reuters.
Marchionne has picked a hard time to sway U.S. investors however. The U.S. auto industry is nearing its peak, the European market's recovery from years of decline is proving elusive and weakness persists in Latin America.
Marchionne and FCA Chairman John Elkann will ring the closing bell at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday to mark the milestone. The 62-year-old chief executive has successfully revived one of Italy's top companies while helping to rescue Chrysler from bankruptcy as well.
"Half of our car volumes are in the United States. I want this to be a U.S.-listed company," Marchionne said, who chose to deliberately list on the day that celebrates Christopher Columbus's arrival in America, according to Reuters.
Fiat took over management control from Chrysler back in 2009 after the American carmaker emerged from government-sponsored bankruptcy and completed its buyout of the company earlier this year. The company is now combining all of its businesses under Dutch-registered FCA, which will have a British financial domicile and small London headquarters, with operations centers in Turin and Detroit.
As Marchionne prepares for the launch of dozens of new models, from funky Fiat 500s to sporty Maseratis, Wall Street is expected to be the first item on an ambitious agenda for the next five years.
The company is targeting a 60 percent sales boost to seven million vehicles and a fivefold increase in net profit to around 5.5 billion euros ($6.9 billion) by 2018, which is when Marchionne has said he would step down as CEO after seeing the company through his investment plan.
FCA's growth plans won't come cheap however. Most analysts feel that the group will need to raise more capital, meaning Marchionne will have to be at his persuasive best.
"It's not the right time to list an auto stock anywhere," said Arndt Ellinghorst, a London-based analyst with ISI Group, according to Reuters. "This is happening in the middle of a major profit warning from Ford and people are still very concerned about GM. It's going to be tough for Marchionne to convince investors."
Ford, for example, has cut back its profit forecast this year, citing recall costs in North America and steeper losses in Russia and South America.
Marchionne believes that FCA shouldn't be tied to Ford's troubles, saying that its strong position in Brazil gives it the upperhand over competitors, and this month reiterated full-year guidance despite market predictions of a cut to forecasts.
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