Fiat: No Chrysler IPO for Now

Fiat SpA, which owns 58.5% of Chrysler Group LLC, says the American company won't launch an initial public offering this year after all.

The Italian carmaker adds that "no assurance can be given as to whether or when an offering will be launched."

Fiat would prefer to avoid an offering and simply buy the remaining 41.5% stake in Chrysler, which is held by a United Auto Workers union trust fund. But the two sides have been deadlocked over the price of such a sale. A lawsuit to settle the dispute won't begin until next September.

The trust exercised its right in October to force an IPO, which would establish a share price. But a public sale also would thwart Fiat's goal of a complete merger that would give it access to Chrysler's cash.

Chrysler noted in a regulatory filing in October that Sergio Marchionne has a conflict of interest in the matter, since he heads both companies. As Chrysler's chief, he is obliged to favor an IPO. But as Fiat's CEO, he has openly opposed it.

Analysts predict Fiat and the trust will arrive at a mutually acceptable price before a public offering occurs. Investment bankers have estimated Chrysler's value somewhere between $9 billion and $16 billion.