News in brief: Fiat speeds up as it buys out Chrysler, Shell trims price of asset buy from rival, IMI details £620m cash handout

Shares in Italian carmaker Fiat soared almost 15% today after it bought out the remaining 41% of Chrysler it did not already own for $3.65 billion (£2.2 billion).

Fiat shares rose 0.75 cents to €6.70 as analysts said that it had paid less than expected, and would not have to raise extra funds for the deal. The loss-making Italian company first linked up with Chrysler in the late 2000s after the US industry almost collapsed.

Royal Dutch Shell has saved $600 million (£362.4 million) on a deal to snap up rival Repsol’s liquefied natural gas assets in Trinidad, Peru and Spain.

The supermajor had agreed to buy the portfolio for $4.4 billion last February, but said today that it would only be spending $3.8 billion on Repsol’s LNG work outside North America. Shell said the assets would bring in cash “immediately”.

Shareholders in engineering group IMI will be asked to vote on a £620 million return of cash at the end of this month after it completed the $1.1 billion sale of its beverages dispensing arm to Berkshire Hathaway yesterday.

Chief executive Mark Selway said: “IMI is now a specialist flow control group entirely focused on industrial end markets. This strong foundation … provides an excellent platform for future growth.”