Fiat SpA and a United Auto Workers trust each appeared to score points with a Delaware judge yesterday during a hearing that could help determine what the Italian company has to pay to acquire the rest of car maker Chrysler Group LLC, Reuters reported yesterday. Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne wants to buy a minority stake in Chrysler that is held by the trust to create the world's seventh-largest automaker and give Fiat the added cash flow and scale to ride out Europe's economic slump. The two sides differ sharply on the value of Chrysler's equity, which the union trust has estimated at $11.493 billion and Fiat says is worth $4.68 billion, according to court papers. The dispute stems from Fiat's call option to buy from the trust a 3.3 percent stake in Chrysler and has offered to pay $139.7 million. The UAW trust has said in papers filed with Delaware's Court of Chancery that the stake is worth at least $342 million.
