Fiat buys more Ferrari shares

Ferrari, whose snazzy red racing cars, ultra-expensive sports cars and Formula One champions are the pride of Italian auto racing fans, will soon be all Fiat's, Fiat chief executive Sergio Marchionne (pictured, left) said.

Italian news reports, covering Marchionne at the world auto show in Paris, quoted Marchionne as saying that at the end of the month, Fiat will acquire the 29 per cent share of Ferrari now held by Mediobanca, an Italian merchant bank.

Marchionne told reporters that Fiat will pay "about 800 million euros" ($A1.36 billion) for the shares, the Italian news agency ANSA said.

The executive took the reins of Fiat, Italy's flagship car maker, in 2004 and led the struggling company to profitability in 2005.

Source: AAP