Sergio Marchionne’s five-year effort to merge Fiat S.p.A. and Chrysler Group culminated in a Florida beach town, where the workaholic CEO spent hours nailing a deal that was announced New Year’s Day.

The 61-year-old Italian-born Canadian, who juggles running the two manufacturers with the help of six mobile devices, traveled to Vero Beach, Fla., for the decisive meeting with a UAW health-care trust on Dec. 28.

Fiat is to fully own the Chrysler Group, after announcing that is to buy the remaining 41.5% previously owned by VEBA Trust. Fiat previously owned 58.5% of the Chrysler group.

The deal will require Chrysler Group to pay $1.9bn and Fiat to pay $1.75bn. The deal should be closed by late January, and has seen share prices in Fiat rise sharply.

The deal will mean more cooperation between Fiat, Chrysler, Lancia, Dodge, Jeep and Maserati brands – we may see a broader range of models on sale in the UK but most of the cooperation will be behind the scenes. That means shared technology between brands.

Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive of FIAT and Chairman and CEO of Chrysler Group, said “The unified ownership structure will now allow us to fully execute our vision of creating a global automaker that is truly unique in terms of mix of experience, perspective and know-how, a solid and open organisation that will ensure all employees a challenging and rewarding environment.”