Daimler-Chrysler soon to be "Daimler;" Chrysler for sale

[Joe S.]

The Chrysler division of Daimler-Chrysler lost $1.5 billion last year --
Daimler is looking for a buyer, wants to get back to being "Daimler."


QUOTE

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche confirmed
Wednesday that the company is talking with potential buyers who he said have
a "clear interest" in buying its money-losing Chrysler unit, but he would
not give details of discussions and said all options for the No. 4 U.S.
automaker are still on the table.

"In this context, I can confirm that we are talking with some of the
potential partners who have shown a clear interest," he said in introductory
remarks at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Berlin early
Wednesday.

"But it is also true that we need to keep all options open, and that I
cannot disclose any details, because we need to have the maximum scope for
maneuver," he added, saying that the company's management requires "the
greatest possible flexibility so that we can identify and then
professionally implement the best possible solution."

He said it would be "irresponsible" to give more details of the discussions
at this time.

"So far, I am satisfied with the process. Everything is going according to
plan," he said.

Zetsche said whatever option is chosen for Chrysler will require that
turnaround plans at the unit are implemented. He said the company would also
look to continue cooperation between Chrysler and DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes
unit no matter what is done with the North American unit.

Zetsche announced Feb. 14 that the company would explore all strategic
options for Chrysler, including a possible sale. The announcement came the
same day that the company announced a $1.5 billion loss at Chrysler in 2006,
along with plans to close several North American factories and cut 13,000
jobs in order to try to turn around its financial outlook.

The Detroit News reported Wednesday that two of the nation's largest private
equity firms, the Blackstone Group and Cerberus Capital Management, have
made formal bids to buy Chrysler Group, as has Canadian auto parts supplier
Magna International (Charts).

The expectation is that the private equity firms would send Chrysler Group
to the chop shop, perhaps selling off its Jeep brand to another automaker
and further cutting capacity, and pushing the company's unions for wage and
benefit concessions.

Not surprisingly, the bids therefore could face strong opposition from
DaimlerChrysler's unions in both North America and Europe.

The paper reports that a dozen union officials, including United Auto
Workers President Ron Gettelfinger, met for dinner in Berlin Tuesday and
reaffirmed their position: that they hoped Chrysler would remain a part of
DaimlerChrysler and opposed a sale of Chrysler to a private equity group or
other buyer that would dismember it.

In comments at a UAW conference March 27, Gettelfinger said apprehension is
justified among union members at Chrysler and various auto parts makers
about the interest in the sector by private equity firms because many of
those buyers "are out to increase their wealth by stripping and flipping the
companies."

Bob Chernecki, an assistant to Canadian Auto Workers President Buzz Hargrove
who attended the dinner Tuesday, told the News there was absolute solidarity
among the union leadership to a sale of Chrysler to private equity groups.

The Berlin dinner was attended by Erich Klemm, a German union leader who is
vice chairman of DaimlerChrysler's supervisory board, the equivalent of the
company's board of directors, the News said.

Shares of DaimlerChrysler (Charts) were little changed in early Frankfurt
trading at the start of the meeting at about 4 a.m. ET. The shares had been
higher before the release of some of the introductiory comments ahead of the
meeting.

U.S. sales at the traditional Big Three automakers - Chrysler, General
Motors (Charts) and Ford (Charts) - continued to lose share to Toyota Motor
(Charts), Honda Motor (Charts) and other import brands in March, although a
rebound in Chrysler sales from weak February levels allowed it to do a bit
better than forecasts.

In the first quarter, Chrysler had only 13.8 percent of U.S. sales, down
from 14.3 percent in the same period of 2006, as its sales fell 4.4 percent.

Zetsche told the shareholders that DaimlerChrysler managers "believe the
Chrysler group has a much more competitive structure than its other American
competitors." The unit had been profitable through early 2006, while GM and
Ford struggled with losses in their core automotive operations that started
in 2005.

But GM and Ford have both won concession on health care costs from the UAW
that Chrysler has yet to win. GM's North American auto operations nearly
broke even in the fourth quarter while losses at Chrysler soared.

http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/04/news/international/daimler_meeting/index.htm?postversion=2007040405

END QUOTE

 

[Scotius]

On Wed, 4 Apr 2007 06:06:00 -0400, "Joe S." <no_one@nowhere.net>
wrote:

>The Chrysler division of Daimler-Chrysler lost $1.5 billion last year --
>Daimler is looking for a buyer, wants to get back to being "Daimler."
>

That COULD be a good thing for the US. Consider that just
prior to WW II, there were a lot of businessmen in the US and Germany
trying to make sure that your respective economies were tied up, and
that the US would not go to war against Germany - not for the sake of
peace, but so Hitler could do what he wanted.
Recently, the EU convinced Saddam Hussein to drop the US
dollar as it's official currency for oil sales, thus making sure
invasion plans were hurriedly put together, as opposed to the more
relaxed pace they were going at when it was only about securing oil.
Wolfowitz (I think it was him) said the US should acknowledge
Germany and France as enemy states, and of course he was right,
because that's exactly what they are. The US got suckered into the war
in Iraq. The Euros figured they couldn't lose. If the US fought, it
wastes itself fighting 3rd world tin pot dictators, and if it didn't
and some of the OPEC countries that were watching the situation
followed Hussein's lead, the dollar could have gone to 40% of it's
then-current value.
I used to think "Well fine then, I'm glad they invaded
Iraq...", but of course I've grown up a bit since then. An honest and
competent government could have instituted price freezes in the US,
and the citizenry wouldn't have had to feel much of a pinch even if
the US dollar did downgrade a bit. Now instead of that, Bush is doing
everything he can to enable US corporate interests to loot not only
foreign lands, but also the US in case the foreign ventures don't work
out. And of course it would have been better for the dollar to go to
40% than to go to zero or next to it, which is where Bush policies are
likely to put it.
You can't wait 'til 2008. That SOB has to be taken out of
office. Even if he didn't steal the 2000 election, he's still as much
of a fake president as if he had, since he took an oath to uphold the
constitution and has done everything opposite that he can. How secure
is the Bush admin? When they're so desperate to convince you that they
define your rights that they have an idiot like Alberto Gonzalez say
in an interview that "The constitution doesn't say the right of habeus
corpus is presumed to exist, just that you can't take it away", that's
how you know that even a reasonably intelligent citizen without much
of a voice in politics can be a threat to them just by making as much
of a joke of their criminal gang as it really is. Why do you think
they want to build the "Total Information Awareness System" and other
things to spy on Americans after having used "terrorism" as the
excuse?
And, of course, European leaders want their collective economy
to be the #1, and are willing to do anything they can to achieve that.
And what is the idiot in the oval office doing? Making
speeches about bandana wearing goofballs in Afghanistan while talking
about "our European allies". Why? Because of American business
interests. Europe is the #1 export destination for US produced goods,
and the people who profit from that trade aren't about to let Bush
even say anything that would upset your real enemies in France and
Germany.

>
>QUOTE
>
>NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche confirmed
>Wednesday that the company is talking with potential buyers who he said have
>a "clear interest" in buying its money-losing Chrysler unit, but he would
>not give details of discussions and said all options for the No. 4 U.S.
>automaker are still on the table.
>
>"In this context, I can confirm that we are talking with some of the
>potential partners who have shown a clear interest," he said in introductory
>remarks at the company's annual shareholder meeting in Berlin early
>Wednesday.
>
>"But it is also true that we need to keep all options open, and that I
>cannot disclose any details, because we need to have the maximum scope for
>maneuver," he added, saying that the company's management requires "the
>greatest possible flexibility so that we can identify and then
>professionally implement the best possible solution."
>
>He said it would be "irresponsible" to give more details of the discussions
>at this time.
>
>"So far, I am satisfied with the process. Everything is going according to
>plan," he said.
>
>Zetsche said whatever option is chosen for Chrysler will require that
>turnaround plans at the unit are implemented. He said the company would also
>look to continue cooperation between Chrysler and DaimlerChrysler's Mercedes
>unit no matter what is done with the North American unit.
>
>Zetsche announced Feb. 14 that the company would explore all strategic
>options for Chrysler, including a possible sale. The announcement came the
>same day that the company announced a $1.5 billion loss at Chrysler in 2006,
>along with plans to close several North American factories and cut 13,000
>jobs in order to try to turn around its financial outlook.
>
>The Detroit News reported Wednesday that two of the nation's largest private
>equity firms, the Blackstone Group and Cerberus Capital Management, have
>made formal bids to buy Chrysler Group, as has Canadian auto parts supplier
>Magna International (Charts).
>
>The expectation is that the private equity firms would send Chrysler Group
>to the chop shop, perhaps selling off its Jeep brand to another automaker
>and further cutting capacity, and pushing the company's unions for wage and
>benefit concessions.
>
>Not surprisingly, the bids therefore could face strong opposition from
>DaimlerChrysler's unions in both North America and Europe.
>
>The paper reports that a dozen union officials, including United Auto
>Workers President Ron Gettelfinger, met for dinner in Berlin Tuesday and
>reaffirmed their position: that they hoped Chrysler would remain a part of
>DaimlerChrysler and opposed a sale of Chrysler to a private equity group or
>other buyer that would dismember it.
>
>In comments at a UAW conference March 27, Gettelfinger said apprehension is
>justified among union members at Chrysler and various auto parts makers
>about the interest in the sector by private equity firms because many of
>those buyers "are out to increase their wealth by stripping and flipping the
>companies."
>
>Bob Chernecki, an assistant to Canadian Auto Workers President Buzz Hargrove
>who attended the dinner Tuesday, told the News there was absolute solidarity
>among the union leadership to a sale of Chrysler to private equity groups.
>
>The Berlin dinner was attended by Erich Klemm, a German union leader who is
>vice chairman of DaimlerChrysler's supervisory board, the equivalent of the
>company's board of directors, the News said.
>
>Shares of DaimlerChrysler (Charts) were little changed in early Frankfurt
>trading at the start of the meeting at about 4 a.m. ET. The shares had been
>higher before the release of some of the introductiory comments ahead of the
>meeting.
>
>U.S. sales at the traditional Big Three automakers - Chrysler, General
>Motors (Charts) and Ford (Charts) - continued to lose share to Toyota Motor
>(Charts), Honda Motor (Charts) and other import brands in March, although a
>rebound in Chrysler sales from weak February levels allowed it to do a bit
>better than forecasts.
>
>In the first quarter, Chrysler had only 13.8 percent of U.S. sales, down
>from 14.3 percent in the same period of 2006, as its sales fell 4.4 percent.
>
>Zetsche told the shareholders that DaimlerChrysler managers "believe the
>Chrysler group has a much more competitive structure than its other American
>competitors." The unit had been profitable through early 2006, while GM and
>Ford struggled with losses in their core automotive operations that started
>in 2005.
>
>But GM and Ford have both won concession on health care costs from the UAW
>that Chrysler has yet to win. GM's North American auto operations nearly
>broke even in the fourth quarter while losses at Chrysler soared.
>
>http://money.cnn.com/2007/04/04/news/international/daimler_meeting/index.htm?postversion=2007040405
>
>END QUOTE
>