Are You Trying to Seduce Me, Mr. Marchionne?

Ever since Sergio Marchionne snuck in to see The Graduate as an underage teen in the 1960s, he’s had a soft spot for Alfa Romeo, the maker of the Spider Duetto convertible Dustin Hoffman drove in the film. More than four decades later, Marchionne is the chief executive officer of Alfa Romeo’s parent, Fiat, and he wants to return the struggling brand to its former glory. To pull it off, he needs cash from Fiat-controlled Chrysler Group. The problem is, he hasn’t found a way to get it: A union trust still owns more than 40 percent of the U.S. automaker’s shares.

Unlocking Chrysler’s $12 billion cash hoard is about more than just refreshing Alfa Romeo and fulfilling the dreams of a “young idiot,” as Marchionne, 61, recalls himself. Fiat’s ability to recover from losses in Europe depends on getting access to the American company’s resources to fund long-delayed new vehicles and stop a downward spiral in its home region. “Marchionne is facing the most difficult moment since Fiat took over Chrysler,” says Giuseppe Berta, a professor of business history at Bocconi University in Milan. “He’s in a hurry to complete the merger as soon as possible to invest in new models in Europe.”