Chrsyler is aiming to refinance $7 billion of U.S. and Canadian government debt by June, clearing the way for Fiat (FIA.MI) to take a majority stake, the companies' chief executive said on Monday. The U.S. number three automaker, controlled by Fiat under a 2009 bailout, is in talks with investment banks. It must pay back government money before the Italian company can take ownership. "I believe I can do it," Sergio Marchionne, who is chief executive of both Fiat and Chrysler, said when asked about whether the debt would be refinanced by June. "The conditions to take on an additional 16 percent (to take majority control) will be there." Marchionne also said Fiat would likely use its own cash to pay for the additional 16 percent. He declined to give any valuation on how much that additional stake would cost.
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