A Chinese automaker has reportedly made a quiet bid to acquire Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
The bid, if it were to go through, would mean that a traditional member of the Detroit Big Three that was bailed out by U.S. taxpayers would wind up with Chinese ownership, note Nathan Bomey and Brent Snavely of the Detroit Free Press.
Fiat Chrysler, an Italian-controlled multinational corporation, is incorporated in the Netherlands and based in London.
The paper reports:
The U.S. government bailed out Chrysler in late 2008 and 2009, funding the company's bankruptcy and helping to negotiate Italian automaker Fiat's deal to gain control of the brand. Several years later, Fiat gained full ownership of Chrysler.
A deal would almost certainly raise political hackles in the U.S. over the possibility that a company rescued by taxpayers could yield to Chinese ownership amid consternation over the future of American manufacturing.
