DaimlerChrysler Wants Divorce

Ford, GM see hope for restructuring labor costs

(NEWSER) - The sale of Chrysler to private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management could be a watershed for the entire industry, the Wall Street Journal predicts. Cerberus thinks it can make the embattled carmaker profitable by restructuring its debilitating $18-billion health care and pension liability. If it succeeds without resorting to bankruptcy—which the airlines have found necessary—GM and Ford will surely follow. More»

German firm keeps minority stake in American auto giant

(NEWSER) - DaimlerChrysler has sold a majority stake in the Chrysler Group to the American private-equity firm Cerberus for $7.4 billion, the auto giant announced today. The deal unhooks the money-losing American arm of the international conglomerate from its German partner, which will retain a 19.9% stake in Chrysler and change its name to Daimler AG as soon as this fall. More»

Proving that three heads may be better than one

(NEWSER) - Private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management is said to have cut a deal to buy Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler. Cerberus has lots of experience in negotiating for assets in the auto industry, having led the buyout of auto parts maker Delphi, which has not yet closed and may yet fall apart. More»

(NEWSER) - Der Spiegel vivisects Cerberus, the private equity group that won Chrysler for a relative bargain today from German auto giant Daimler. Financier Stephen Feinberg's 15-year-old firm has $60 billion in assets, and specializes in companies on the brink of bankruptcy. The group avoids the spotlight, recruits former CEOs and politicians, including John Snow and Dan Quayle, and flips its holdings expeditiously. More»

Alliance would keep Detroit automaker intact, but expose Cerberus to more risk

(NEWSER) - Chrysler is considering joining Nissan-Renault, adding a North American arm to the Japanese-French auto alliance that could rescue Chrysler’s operations, the Wall Street Journal reports. Cerberus, Chrysler’s majority owner, prefers a merger with General Motors, but overlap with a Detroit competitor would likely eliminate half of Chrysler’s 66,000 jobs. A deal with Nissan-Renault would leave Chrysler largely intact. More»