For Sale: "Broken" Chrysler; Blackstone, Cerberus May Bid - Morning Call

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Apr.04

12:08 PM ET

Wednesday, 4 Apr 2007

For Sale: "Broken" Chrysler; Blackstone, Cerberus May Bid

Posted By:Jamie Corsi

Topics:Mergers & Acquisitions | Automobile Industry

Sectors:Automobiles and Parts

Companies:DAIMLERCHRYSLER AG

David Zalubowski / AP
A row of Pacifica vehicles are lined up on the lot of a Chrysler dealership in Thornton, Colorado.
It’s official: DaimlerChrysler [DCX Loading... () ] confirms that its Chrysler division is up for sale. The announcement was made today by Chairman Dieter Zetsche at his company’s shareholder meeting in Berlin. Although he did not name potential buyers, private-equity firms Blackstone and Cerberus, and Canadian car group Magna International [MGA Loading... () ] have reportedly made formal bids on Chrysler.

Brad Rubin, auto trading sector specialist at BNP Paribas, and Michelle Krebs, senior editor at Edmunds’ AutoObserver.com appeared on "Morning Call" to debate whether a sale to private equity would be the best thing for Chrysler’s future.

“Private equity firms will move aggressively to buy before September,” said Rubin, who believes the firms could make a small bidding war for Chrysler. “Chrysler has a broken business model and needs further restructuring.”

Krebs does not expect this to be your typical private-equity buyout: “It’s very possible that Daimler maintains a stake in Chrysler,” said Krebs, who believes that Cerberus is the most interesting bidder to watch.