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Marchionne ready to take over as Ferrari CEO before IPO - sources

Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive of Fiat Chrysler, speaks during the first press preview day of the North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Michigan January 12, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

MILAN (Reuters) - Fiat Chrysler chief Sergio Marchionne is preparing to take over as chief executive at Ferrari ahead of the Italian luxury sportscar maker's planned initial public offering later this year, two sources said on Thursday.

Marchionne is already chairman of Ferrari, which Fiat Chrysler plans to list after mid-October.

Ferrari CEO Amedeo Felisa, who took over as Ferrari CEO in 2008, is expected to step down ahead of the IPO, the sources said. Born in 1946, Felisa started working at Ferrari as an engineer in 1990.

Former Ferrari head Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, who handed the mantle of chairman to Marchionne last year, had himself held both top management positions at the sportscar maker for several years.

Fiat Chrysler has said it plans to sell up to 10 percent of Ferrari via a share offering and distribute the rest of its stake to its shareholders. The float is expected after mid-October while the separation should be completed in early 2016.

(Reporting by Stefano Rebaudo, writing by Stephen Jewkes; Editing by Valentina Za and Keith Weir)