It appears Chrysler LLC is headed for a restructuring the old fashion way, with a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in the works possibly as soon as next week, according to the New York Times.
Excerpt below:
The Treasury Department is preparing a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing for Chrysler that could come as soon as next week, people with direct knowledge of the action said Thursday.
The Treasury has an agreement in principle with the United Automobile Workers union, whose members’ pensions and retiree health care benefits would be protected as a condition of the bankruptcy filing, said these people, who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.
Moreover, Fiat of Italy would complete its alliance with Chrysler while the company is under bankruptcy protection.
In other auto bailout news, Bloomberg is all over some very interesting rumors out of Germany as to how troubled General Motors is attempting to slim down its number of brands, with Italian-based Fiat, Canadian-based Magna International, and possibly even the Russian-based GAZ Group (via the Rheinische Post) interested in at least parts of its European Opel division.
Excerpt below:
(Bloomberg) — Fiat SpA and Magna International Inc. are the “main” bidders for a stake in General Motors Corp.’s Opel division in Germany, a state minister said in an interview today.
Fiat, Italy’s largest carmaker, and Magna, North America’s biggest auto-parts maker, are the only car-industry suitors for Opel, said Hendrik Hering, the economy minister for the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. The state government opposes Fiat acquiring a holding in Opel because it may cost 5,000 to 8,000 jobs in Germany as GM reorganizes the unit, he said.
