Chrysler hopes US will drive it into GM’s embrace
Chrysler LLC may be sending a message to President Barack Obama’s autos task force by saying the “best option” for survival is a merger with General Motors Corp that both sides have labeled dead.
By Bloomberg |
SOUTHFIELD: Chrysler LLC may be sending a message to President Barack Obama���s autos task force by saying the ���best option��� for survival is a merger with General Motors Corp that both sides have labeled dead.
Chrysler, propped up like GM with federal aid, is suggesting a new appraisal of a tie-up in hopes that the auto panel meeting for the first time on Friday might force a ���shotgun marriage,��� said Brian Johnson, a Barclays Capital analyst in Chicago.
���I can���t imagine GM doing that without being forced into it by the government, but that���s a possibility,��� said Kimberly Rodriguez, a principal at consulting firm Grant Thornton LLP in Southfield, Michigan.
Obama���s task force will start reviewing $21.6 billion in new loan requests that include Chrysler���s comment on the advantages of a GM combination. GM, the biggest US automaker, abandoned merger talks in November and said it is focused on its own survival, not hooking up with No. 3 Chrysler.
Chrysler, in talks with Fiat SpA on an alliance, said in its filing for $5 billion in fresh aid that a GM tie-up ���would create a company better positioned to compete with Toyota and other non-US automakers.��� ���We knew we would get asked questions about our earlier discussions related to proposed alliances, so we decided to be very upfront and put it all in the presentation,��� spokesman Stuart Schorr said.
That doesn���t mean Chrysler is renewing negotiations with Detroit-based GM, he said. Chrysler has agreed in principle to trade 35% of its equity to Turin, Italy-based Fiat for small-car technology and access to global markets.
Chrysler, propped up like GM with federal aid, is suggesting a new appraisal of a tie-up in hopes that the auto panel meeting for the first time on Friday might force a ���shotgun marriage,��� said Brian Johnson, a Barclays Capital analyst in Chicago.
���I can���t imagine GM doing that without being forced into it by the government, but that���s a possibility,��� said Kimberly Rodriguez, a principal at consulting firm Grant Thornton LLP in Southfield, Michigan.
Obama���s task force will start reviewing $21.6 billion in new loan requests that include Chrysler���s comment on the advantages of a GM combination. GM, the biggest US automaker, abandoned merger talks in November and said it is focused on its own survival, not hooking up with No. 3 Chrysler.
Chrysler, in talks with Fiat SpA on an alliance, said in its filing for $5 billion in fresh aid that a GM tie-up ���would create a company better positioned to compete with Toyota and other non-US automakers.��� ���We knew we would get asked questions about our earlier discussions related to proposed alliances, so we decided to be very upfront and put it all in the presentation,��� spokesman Stuart Schorr said.
That doesn���t mean Chrysler is renewing negotiations with Detroit-based GM, he said. Chrysler has agreed in principle to trade 35% of its equity to Turin, Italy-based Fiat for small-car technology and access to global markets.
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