birdwatcher

DETROIT — Chrysler filed for a public stock offering on Monday, acting only under pressure from its second-largest shareholder, a trust set up to provide medical coverage for 115,000 retired autoworkers and their relatives.
Matt Levine: Fiat, which owns the other 58.5 percent, wants to buy the trust's shares and not go public. The trust thinks Fiat's price is too low and is trying to get a higher valuation by selling some shares publicly. The game theory here for potential investors is fascinating -- if you buy Chrysler shares, you're just a plaything in Fiat's game with the trust -- but then there is also the fact that Chrysler's chief executive officer is Sergio Marchionne, who is also Fiat's CEO. As Chrysler's CEO he is tasked with leading a successful IPO. As Fiat's CEO he is tasked with buying Chrysler at the lowest possible price.