Fiat boss Giovanni Agnelli dies
Giovanni Agnelli, head of Italy’s troubled Fiat motor company, has died after months of illness, a company official said in Turin today.
The death of the company’s ageing patriarch was certain to lead to speculation over his successor, and even whether Fiat would stay in Italian hands.
Fiat, Italy’s largest private-sector employer, has been hit by mounting debts and falling sales.
The company’s creditor banks issued a loan of almost €3bn last May which is convertible into Fiat shares if certain terms are not met.
In a bid to reach those goals, Fiat has idled 8,100 workers, sold off a series of assets and brought its net debt to below €3bn in recent months.
Agnelli’s ill-health had in the past led to speculation that he might leave his key role in the troubled car manufacturer – a rumour that previously sent Fiat share prices up.
The markets saw the aged Agnelli as an impediment to a sale of Fiat – a business that has made his family billions of pounds.
Fiat officials said the funeral would be strictly private.
