While Ford's (F -1.61%) turnaround has been one for the history books, and General Motors' (GM -0.94%) turnaround is gaining steam with strong new models, Chrysler has followed a different path. The smallest of Detroit's Big Three automakers was in much worse shape than either Ford or GM when it crashed into bankruptcy court in 2009, and many experts felt it wasn't worth saving.
Italian automaker Fiat (NASDAQOTH: FIATY) disagreed, and Chrysler was essentially put into Fiat's hands by the bankruptcy court. That marriage has worked out well so far: Fiat threw big resources into overhauling Chrysler's tired products on the fly, and the resulting much-improved vehicles led to big sales and profit gains.
Now, Fiat would like to take full ownership of Chrysler, but there's a problem: Fiat and the United Auto Workers health-care trust that owns Chrysler's remaining stock can't agree on a fair price. A court is already involved, but a trial could take years to conclude -- and neither side wants to wait.
As Fool contributor John Rosevear explains in this video, an IPO would be one way to find a fair price for the company's stock -- and the registration papers for a Chrysler IPO could be filed as soon as this week.
