Chrysler Gets OK From VEBA, Chrysler-Fiat Merger is Go!

After years of co-habitation, Fiat finally made an honest woman out of Chrysler and bought out the remaining shares in a $4.3 Billion deal with the UAW’s VEBA trust. Chrysler got the OK from VEBA to go ahead with the merger on New Year’s Day, with the final details still being hammered out by the two parties.

Hopefully, the merger will increase the likelihood of the next Chrysler 200 having more in common with the Lancia Delta than with the old Chrysler Sebring, and a new, 40 MPG Chrysler 100 coming stateside to battle the hot-selling Buick Encore and new-for-2015 Mini Cooper in the premium-compact class. Worst case, we’ll get a proper multicam Ferrari hybrid system in a new-age Dodge Stealth sportscar, which- seriously, you guys- would not suck.

Here’s the official news from the PR Newswire. Check it out, then let us know what Chrysler/Fiat crossover specials you hope to see stateside in the coming year in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

DETROIT, Jan. 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust (Trust) is pleased to confirm that an agreement has been reached between the Trust's Independent Fiduciary and Fiat North America LLC regarding a purchase of the Trust's entire equity interest in Chrysler Group LLC.

We are very pleased that Fiat and the Trust's Independent Fiduciary were able to work together to reach an agreement on this important matter. The team at Brock Fiduciary Services worked with extraordinary diligence and professionalism to achieve the best possible outcome for the Trust and the retirees we serve.

"This agreement is in the best interests of the Trust's UAW Chrysler retiree members and their families who rely on the Trust to provide vital health care benefits," said Robert Naftaly, chair of the Committee that governs the Trust. 

The Trust provides medical benefits to more than 117,000 UAW-represented Chrysler retirees, surviving spouses and dependents, and will provide post-retirement benefits to eligible UAW-represented Chrysler employees and their dependents upon their retirement. 

The UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust is the largest non-governmental purchaser of retiree health care benefits in the United States, providing health care benefits to over 779,000 UAW retirees and dependents from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler.

SOURCE UAW Retiree Medical Benefits Trust