By Eric Sylvers
MILAN--A spokesman for Exor SpA, the holding company through
which the Agnelli family controls Fiat SpA, denied Thursday that
the clan is in takeover talks with the controlling family of
Volkswagen AG.
A German magazine reported that the Agnellis and the Piech
family, which controls Volkswagen, have held talks about a possible
merger. Shares in Italy's Fiat SpA surged early Thursday, rising
nearly 5% at one point. They were 3% higher in early afternoon
trading in Milan. Volkswagen shares were down nearly 3%.
According to a pre-release of an article to appear in the German
monthly business magazine Manager Magazin, the two families are in
talks about merging the car makers, with VW anxious to bulk up in
the U.S. market through Chrysler, which is merging with Fiat. At
the same time, the deal would allow the Agnelli family to focus on
its luxury Ferrari brand and get out of the mass market. Spokesmen
for VW and Fiat declined to comment.
In May, Fiat unveiled an ambitious five-year plan to boost its
car sales by 60% by 2018. Under the leadership of CEO Sergio
Marchionne, Fiat has engineered a takeover of Chrysler, whose
strong performance has helped Fiat balance deep losses in its
legacy European business.
Write to Eric Sylvers at eric.sylvers@wsj.com
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