Fiat's Chrysler Said to Seek Bank Loans Before Stock Offering

Chrysler Group LLC, the U.S. automaker run by Fiat SpA, has contacted banks about borrowing money before a possible initial public offering next year, two people familiar with the effort told Bloomberg.

Chrysler owes the U.S. and Canadian governments $7.4 billion and Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne has said interest on that debt has kept the automaker from earning a profit in the first half of this year. Fiat, which he also runs, can’t have a majority stake until Chrysler has repaid the money borrowed as part of last year’s bankruptcy and reorganization.

The third-largest U.S. automaker’s board is looking to refinance U.S. and Canadian government loans as it considers the proper debt level for the company, Marchionne said last week. The company approached banks about valuation and loans in recent months, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions were private.

“What he wants to do clearly is refinance it and take advantage of the extraordinarily low level of interest rates,” Joseph Phillippi, principal of AutoTrends Inc., a consulting firm based in Short Hills, N.J., said in a telephone interview. “Getting the company’s financial footing in a much stronger position is clearly going to benefit him.”

Chrysler, based in Auburn Hills, Mich., has said its effective interest on the money borrowed from the U.S. government is as high as 14 percent and as high as 20 percent on the Canadian loans.