Ferrari to pay Fiat Chrysler $2.8B prior to spinoff

Sat, 15 Nov 2014

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles is trying to get capital together in a hurry to finance the automaker's growth plans. Among its strategies to raise money, Ferrari will be spun off from the FCA mothership next year with an initial public offering. However, the Italian supercar maker will be a couple billion dollars poorer at the start of its new life.

According to a filing with US regulators obtained by Automotive News, FCA intends to "enter into certain other transactions including distributions and transfers of cash from Ferrari currently estimated at 2.25 billion euros ($2.8 billion)" before it spins the supercar maker off. Those funds might include paying a dividend to investors, and FCA possibly transferring some of its debt to the Prancing Horse.

The Ferrari IPO will likely be in the second or third quarter of 2015, according to Automotive News. Ten percent of the automaker will go onto the public market in the US and possibly Europe too, and 80 percent will be distributed among current FCA shareholders. The other 10 percent is held by co-chairman Piero Ferrari, according to AN.

FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne has been considering spinning off Ferrari for years. With former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo no longer around to block it, Marchionne has finally gotten his wish. Hopefully, the lost money doesn't put the newly independent supercar maker at too much of a disadvantage for its fresh start.

By Chris Bruce