Chrysler may delay IPO until 2012

After the U.S. government was forced to bail out both Chrysler and General Motors during the economic downturn, all eyes have been on the two companies to determine when they'll be paying the U.S. Treasury Department back. GM repaid much of the money invested in it with its recent IPO, and many analysts assumed Chrysler would be soon to follow.

Yet things aren't quite that simple at Chrysler, which is now owned by the Italian automaker Fiat. CEO Sergio Marchionne previously said an IPO would be in the works for later this year, but recent comments seem to suggest that the company may hold off until 2012.

Fiat holds a 25 percent stake in the automaker, while the United Auto Workers health care fund owns approximately 63 percent. Over time, Marchionne hopes to slowly increase his company's share in the automaker until it reaches 51 percent. Then, he wants to pay off nearly $7 billion in loans from the U.S. and Canadian governments.

This new timetable has caused many to believe that Marchionne is actually planning to hold off on the IPO this year and instead push it back to 2012.

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