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Ferrari borrows $2.6 billion to finance FCA spinoff

Ferrari announced Monday that it is borrowing about $2.6 billion to finance its spinoff from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Here's how it breaks down: Ferrari NV, the automaker's parent company based in the Netherlands, is taking out loans totaling 2.5 billion euros. That's equivalent to $2.64 billion at current exchange rates, and is divided between a term loan of $2.12 billion and a revolving credit facility of $529 million. The larger term loan "will be used to refinance indebtedness owing to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles," among other purposes. That ought to constitute the lion's share of the $2.38 billion which the Prancing Horse marque was, according to reports last year, slated to pay its current parent company in order to help FCA fund its ambitious growth plans. The separate line of credit is earmarked "to be used from time to time for general corporate and working capital purposes of the Ferrari group." Though Ferrari is not expected to take any other Fiat Chrysler properties with it, the "group" in this case would include its various financial services and distribution arms around the world that may have been separately incorporated. As noted in the statement below, the financial arrangement "represents a further step towards the separation of Ferrari from the FCA Group," following the separate stock issues from both companies as independent from each other. FERRARI N.V. SIGNS ˆ2.5 BILLION SYNDICATED CREDIT FACILITY Ferrari N.V. (NYSE: RACE) ("Ferrari") announced today that it has entered into a ˆ2.5 billion syndicated loan facility with a group of ten bookrunner banks. The facility comprises a bridge loan (the "Bridge Loan") and a term loan (the "Term Loan") of ˆ2 billion in aggregate and a revolving credit facility of ˆ500 million (the "RCF"). Proceeds of the Bridge Loan and Term Loan will be used to refinance indebtedness owing to Fiat Chrysler AutomobilesN.V. (NYSE: FCAU) ("FCA") and other indebtedness and for other general corporate purposes. Proceeds of the RCF may be used from time to time for general corporate and working capital purposes of the Ferrari group. The Bridge Loan has a 12 month maturity with an option for Ferrari to extend once for a six-month period. Ferrari intends to refinance the Bridge Loan prior to its maturity with longer term debt, including through capital markets or other financing transactions. The Term Loan, which comprises a majority of the total facility, and the RCF each have a maturity of five years.

Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot boards meet to finalize merger

MILAN/PARIS — The boards of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and Peugeot will meet separately on Tuesday to discuss finalizing an initial agreement for a $50 billion merger to create the world's number four carmaker, sources said. A source close to FCA said the two companies could announce the signing of a binding memorandum early on Wednesday, followed by a conference call to explain further details later in the day. The two mid-sized carmakers announced plans six weeks ago for a tie-up to help them deal with big challenges in the industry, including a global demand downturn and the need to develop costly cleaner cars to meet looming anti-pollution rules. Ahead of the meetings, entities representing the Peugeot family, Etablissements Peugeot Freres (EPF) and FFP, unanimously approved a proposed memorandum of understanding for the planned merger, a source familiar with the situation said. FCA and PSA have said they would seek to finalize a deal by year-end to create a group with 8.7 million in annual vehicle sales. That would put it fourth globally behind Volkswagen, Toyota and the Renault-Nissan alliance. PSA's Carlos Tavares will be chief executive and FCA's John Elkann — the scion of Italy's Agnelli family, which controls FCA through their holding company Exor — chairman of the combined company. The group will include the Fiat, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, Chrysler, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Peugeot, DS, Opel and Vauxhall brands, allowing it to serve mass and premium passenger car markets as well as those for trucks and light commercial vehicles. Related Video:       Chrysler Dodge Fiat Jeep RAM Citroen Peugeot

Junkyard Gem: 1995 Eagle Vision TSi

Lee Iacocca's main motivation to have Chrysler buy the American Motors Corporation in 1987 was to grab the Jeep brand, but it turned out that getting all the chassis engineering that went into the Eagle Premier paid off handsomely as well. The Premier's ancestry was Wisconsin-tinged Renault, a mashup of Renault 25 and 21 chassis and suspension design, and Chrysler later based the very successful LH series of sedans on the Premier. The Eagle-badged version of the LH was the Vision, sold for the 1993 through 1997 model years. Here's one of those cars, heavily battered and its once-lurid purple paint now faded, found in a self-service yard south of Denver, Colorado. The Eagle brand was named after the AMC Eagle, and it was used for both ex-AMC vehicles and Mitsubishi machinery. It got the axe after 1998, when the final Talons were sold. The first-generation LH cars included the Vision, the Chrysler Concorde, the Chrysler LHS, the Chrysler New Yorker and the Dodge Intrepid. A Plymouth version known as the Accolade was planned but never went into production. The crash that mangled the front end made it impossible for me to open the hood, but the '95 Vision TSi got a 3.5-liter OHC V6 with 214 horsepower and 221 pound-feet. Every production Vision ever built came with a mandatory four-speed automatic transmission. This car made it just a bit past 167,000 miles during its life. All in all, a comfortable Detroit sedan on a French suspension that sold fairly well and then faded into oblivion. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. So much cheaper than the Acura Legend! This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Virtual reality speculation was all the rage during the first half of the 1990s. And, hey, it still is! This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. The middle 1990s were a strange time.