Fiat May Shift Stock Listing to U.S.

When Fiat SpA absorbs Chrysler Group LLC later this month, the Italian carmaker will probably move its primary stock listing from Milan to New York City, Reuters says.

Two unidentified sources tell the news service the move would help distance Fiat from its struggles in Europe and could help convince investors that the post-merger company can better compete with General Motors, Ford and other larger rivals.

Chrysler-Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said last April he would prefer to have the combined company's primary listing in New York. In July he also floated the possibility of relocating its headquarters to the Netherlands.

Last week Fiat agreed to spend $4.35 billion (€3.2 billion) to acquire the 41.5% of Chrysler it doesn't already own. Fully merging the companies would give Fiat access to Chrysler's cash, which totaled $11.5 billion (€8.5 billion) at the end of September.