djb0308

Owner said to weigh selling Chrysler in pieces
Wednesday October 22, 10:57 am ET
By Tom Krisher, AP Auto Writer
Person briefed on talks says Chrysler could be sold in pieces to other companies


DETROIT (AP) Chrysler LLC could be sold in pieces to other companies as its majority shareholder Cerberus Capital Management LP seeks to exit the auto business, according to a person briefed on the discussions.
ADVERTISEMENT


Cerberus, the New York-based private equity firm, has been shopping the beleaguered automaker to General Motors Corp., the combined Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA and other companies.

Many combinations are being discussed, said the person who has been briefed on the talks. The person asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

Chrysler spokeswoman Shawn Morgan and Cerberus spokesman Peter Duda declined to comment.

Cerberus's efforts to exit the automobile industry have been widely reported in recent weeks, though speculation has swirled over what shape the final deal might take.

One deal being discussed reportedly calls for Cerberus to hand over Chrysler to GM in exchange for GM's 49 percent stake in GMAC Financial Services.

GM sold a 51 percent stake in its finance arm to Cerberus in 2006. Cerberus also would get an equity stake in GM, hoping to get a good return should GM recover when U.S. auto sales bounce back from a serious slump.

GM is said to be interested in Chrysler for its cash. Chrysler, whose sales have dropped 25 percent during the first nine months of the year, reportedly has about $11 billion available.

It also has debt, but the amount hasn't been disclosed because Chrysler a private company. Cerberus bought an 80.1 percent stake in Chrysler from Germany's Daimler AG in a $7.4 billion deal last year.

Chrysler's cash may not be enough for GM to take on its money-losing rival, and the federal government may be involved in an effort to inject cash to prop up the deal.

Auto industry analysts said financing for the deal remains a key element to any final deal. Citi Investment Research analyst Itay Michaeli said in a recent report that a combined GM and Chrysler would require at least $10 billion to $12 billion in fresh liquidity.

However, this could pose a problem given the turbulence in the capital markets, Michaeli said, making it "feasible that the government could step in to provide support."

Detroit-based GM is itself burning up cash, going through more than $1 billion per month. Several analysts have predicted it will reach its minimum operating cash level of $14 billion sometime next year.

GM's sales were down 18 percent for the first nine months of this year. The company has lost $57.5 billion in the past 18 months, although much of that comes from noncash tax accounting changes.

AP Auto Writer Dan Strumpf contributed to this report from New York.




Maybe this would be better??? I really hate the wait and see game. AND I still need to save for my 09 before ordereing[:@]

BLK 6050

Great I just put my razor blades away....and you had to post more "good news" about Chrysler


Here is my two cents:

I'm not sure that Chrysler needs GM more than vice versa. It seems to me that GM needs Chrysler's 11 billion dollars to keep afloat through next year. The merger for Chrysler has virtually no upside for Chrysler. While with Cerberus, there seems to be support for Chrysler to make a turnaround on its own merits. Let’s face it Cerberus is only looking at the bottom-line…if Chrysler can turn a profit then Cerberus will keep it together for while longer, if not they will continue to look at getting out from under the company.
Ok, so the government steps in and helps this merger along. To which Cerberus says to the government thank you. But, first we are a private company so we don’t report to you. And, secondly we are now going to close a lot of plants and kill off several brands. Which means the US Government would be directly responsible for more lost jobs. Then next you get Ford stepping up and saying "Um… what about us? We haven’t merged or owned a mortgage company or even begged for cash". So then Ford will start to fail under the weight of the cash enhanced mess that is General Mopar. It’s a big mess, that may get a lot bigger before it’s all over….and I don’t see any clear winners………….sad..

Andre@Edge

Cerberus has one major down fall at this point, and thats the fact they keep everything secret. When news of the merger talks went public, they lost a huge amount of sales because no one wants to purchase a car or truck from a Company on the way out. This most likely means that Cerberus plans liquidate Chrysler, one way or another.

djb0308

Great I just put my razor blades away....and you had to post more "good news" about Chrysler



Sorry for being the bearer of the news. But I'm not far behind you with those. Just have to remember to cut up not across

RLSH700

There is some truth in this. I don't want to see the Gov't being involved in this. If GM wants to do it, sell off all of your other brands until you have the money for it. There are things that GM has that Chrysler needs: compact car, mid-sized car, and some transmissions. Their compact offering is uncompetitive and they need better fuel efficiency than what they have. Their mid-sized offering is extremely uncompetitive and needs a better platform. They need to get rid of the 4-speeds and need 6-speeds as well as a 6-speed for their trucks.

GM needs a reliable V6 line, a competitive large RWD car, a performance brand that can sell, an entry level luxury brand that can sell to something other than senior citizens, the Hemi engine, etc. GM's High Value engine has developed a bad reputation from problems in its initial run. I've heard bad things about the High Feature engine's quality, and the High Feature engine is a gas hog. It has VVT and much better gearing than the Avenger R/T and the Avenger R/T is getting better fuel economy. The Phoenix engine is supposed to have MDS, VVT, and GDI which should solve all of these problems, plus Chryslers track record with the exception of the 2.7L V6 is much better on V6s than GM. The only good V6 GM made was the 3800 which was originally a V8 anyhow. The G8 is failing to catch on like the 300 and Charger and those two are doing quite well. Dodge's success has been quite a bit better than Pontiac. Chrysler has been able to sell a variety of entry level luxury cars whereas the only thing Buick has been able to sell are large FWD cars meant for a certain age demographic. The Hemi nameplate is quite valuable and I don't think I have to explain the importance of that engine to why GM would want it.

I see more benefit in a Ford & Chrysler relationship. Ford has some of the best platforms in smaller vehicles which is exactly what Chrysler needs and high quality interior. They have a bulletproof I4 line. They have the transmissions needed. Chrysler has the V8 Ford needs to make their truck line be something other than just running off of a legacy. Dodge has the performance image Ford needs to make some cars with great potential, actually sell due to not being associated with dullness. Chrysler is far more interesting than Mercury. Chrysler strength is larger cars which would help Ford out a lot.

mopar2ya

Mopar has always held the "most interesting" spot in my opinion. The GM and Ford offerings have mostly paled by comparison. Mopar has never really seemed concerned about maintaining the status quo of the industry. They have never seemed too bashful to meet the competition head on and out-do the best efforts of the others. I have always thought of them as the mavericks in the auto world. Quite honestly this tends to be the drive behind my passion for the brand.

RLSH700

Same here. They also tend to be the market leader. They created the minivan, they were the first to correctly make a MDS system that worked on a mainstream model, they were the ones who made FWD popular, they were the ones who saw a market potential for RWD cars again. They managed for a while to have the best V6 and one of the best I4s on the market in terms of hp & tq for its size. They have one of the best V8s in its class. They have a lot of passion in their models and you can tell.