Fiat SpA revealed in an official statement today that Ferrari Chairman Luca Cordero di Montezemolo is resigning after spending more than two decades leading the super-car manufacturer. The decision of Mr. Montezemolo comes after a public spat with Fiats Chief Executive Officer Mr. Sergio Marchionne.
Discussions over Ferrari’s future and its racing potential “led to misunderstandings which became clearly visible over the last weekend,” Marchionne said in the statement, which was cited by Bloomberg. “I want to thank Luca for all he has done for Fiat, for Ferrari and for me personally.”
The resignation of Ferraris Chairman comes only a few days after Mr. Marchionne criticised the brands racing performance and publicly expressed his disappointment, saying the luxury car brands Formula One race results over the past six years were unacceptable.
Currently, a 90% stake of Ferrari is being held by Fiat. According to the companys statement, Mr. Marchionne will take over as Chairman of the brand after the departure of Mr. Montezemolo, which is to become effective on October 13th after the brand celebrates 60 years in the US, its largest market.
“Ferrari will have an important role to play within the FCA Group in the upcoming flotation on Wall Street,” Mr. Montezemolo said in a statement announcing his resignation, which was cited by the Wall Street Journal. “This will open up a new and different phase which I feel should be spearheaded by the CEO of the Group.”
Mr. Montezemolo, who became Chairman of Ferrari in 1991, had been focused on maintaining the autonomous status of Ferrari. This, however, did not correspond to Mr. Marchionnes goals. Ferrari has always been an integral part of Fiat and the parent companys Chief Executive Officer has resisted calls and expectations to sell part of the stake Fiat holds in Ferrari in order to raise cash that could be invested in other projects of the company.
Fiat SpA rose by 2.66% to trade at €7.90 per share at 11:57 GMT, marking a one year change of +28.98%. The company is valued at €9.63 billion. According to the Financial Times, the 25 analysts offering 12-month price targets for Fiat SpA have a median target of €7.10, with a high estimate of €10.50 and a low estimate of €4.00. The median estimate represents a -7.73% decrease from the previous close of €7.70.
TradingPedia.com is a financial media specialized in providing daily news and education covering Forex, equities and commodities. Our academies for traders cover 
