Posted by Will (in IL) on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 at 08:34:33 :
In Reply to: Fiat taking 35% stake in Chrysler posted by Will (in IL) on Tuesday, January 20, 2009 at 08:33:02 :
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090121/OPINION03/901210378/1148/AUTO01
The Italians are paying nothing -- no cash, no shares in Fiat SpA, no magnanimous offers to assume debt -- for a 35 percent stake in Chrysler LLC.
Tells you everything you need to know.
This is as sad as it is encouraging, in the sense that a reprieve from imminent execution is good news. Chrysler again is a pawn in a larger, transatlantic gambit, this one between its shadowy Wall Street owner, Cerberus Capital Management LP, and an Italian national icon, even if the alliance -- assuming it becomes reality -- appears to forestall the collapse of Detroit's smallest automaker.