Automotive Loans Repayment
On Friday, car company The Auburn Hills, Mich., refused comment Friday when asked whether Sergio Marchionne would honor a pledge to have Iacocca present the all-important payment to the U.S. government. Chrysler spokeswoman Shawn Morgan said “We have nothing to announce at this time.” With repaying government bailout loans early Marchionne predicted he would follow in Iacocca’s footsteps, in July 2010.
On Friday, a spokeswoman for Iacocca Norma Saken said she was not aware of any invitation from Marchionne. Chrysler announced it had secured $7.5 billion in new financing under a term loan and bond offering that will be used to repay U.S. government loans and high cost Canadian and put the U.S. automaker on firmer financial ground, in earlier this week. The auto maker will pay $1.7 billion to the Ontario and federal governments and $5.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury.
Chrysler said it raised $3 billion in a term loan, a $1.3 billion revolving credit line and $3.2 billion in bonds. The term loan and the bonds total $6.2 billion, coupled with $1.3 billion in cash from Italian automaker Fiat SpA, it’s to repay government debt. The company said Chrysler’s $1.3 billion revolving credit facility will remain undrawn and will be used for general corporate purposes.