UAW Cuts Deal With Chrysler, Fiat, US Treasury

The 6% stake will sell for $500 million

(NEWSER) - The Treasury Department has reached a deal to sell its remaining 6% stake in Chrysler to Fiat for $500 million, making the Italian automaker Chrysler’s majority shareholder with a 52% stake, the Detroit Free Press reports. Fiat will then pay another $75 million for the government’s right to buy the United Auto Workers’ remaining stake in the company, $15 million of which will go to the government of Canada. More»

(NEWSER) - The Obama administration foisted the Fiat alliance on Chrysler, brushing aside its concerns about Fiat’s financial health and unwillingness to share technology, the Wall Street Journal reports. E-mails filed during Chrysler’s bankruptcy proceedings show Fiat ignoring requests for documents, reluctant to ante up funds, and attempting to change contract terms late in the talks. Chrysler officials worried that they, and the government, might find themselves “in bed with a shady partner.” More»

President not afraid to use 'the big stick' on ailing firms

(NEWSER) - In announcing Chrysler’s bankruptcy, President Obama shows other troubled firms and industries there’s a point where bailouts stop and hard choices begin—and that message must ring especially clear at General Motors, writes Tom Walsh for the Detroit Free Press. GM’s creditors will now be under a lot of pressure to accept what Obama’s auto task force suggests—for fear of getting a worse deal in bankruptcy court. More»

(NEWSER) - The battle to restructure Chrysler is about to go public, and could get messy, Michael de la Merced writes for the New York Times. After failing to get all the automaker’s debt-holders in line, the government prepared a “prepackaged bankruptcy,” a Chapter 11 filing with a reorganization plan that has most of Chrysler’s creditors behind it. But dissenting creditors will be fighting hard for a bigger piece of the pie. More»

(NEWSER) - The United Auto Workers are about to own Chrysler. In exchange for a variety of concessions, the union will eventually get a 55% majority share in the automaker, according to a summary of the restructuring deal, which was sent to union leaders late last night and reviewed by the Wall Street Journal. Fiat will eventually own 35% of the stock, with taxpayers and creditors divvying up the remaining 10%. More»