Despite the fact that Chrysler shares are no longer sold on the stock market, rumors regarding the company's financial standing continue to haunt the number three domestic auto manufacturer in America. Last week, rumors regarding the negative cash flow were so rampant, a company spokesperson went out of his way to deny that the automaker was headed towards bankruptcy. Now, despite constant assurance from Chrysler that it's hitting all of its internal goals, the lack of announced future product and credit warnings from major firms such as Merrill Lynch and Fitch Ratings are causing some industry insiders to predict major changes from the automaker. Some analysts even believe that Cerberus is looking to offload or break up the company, allegations that Chrysler vehemently denies.
Because the automaker is privately held, the world will just need to sit back and wait to see how Cerberus' so-called "buy, fix and hold" strategy will work out. Despite what took place back in the '70s, Chrysler shouldn't get its hopes up for much federal assistance. It goes without saying, though, that Chrysler is going to need some major revamped products if it plans to make it in the tough U.S. market much longer.
The Detroit Free Press is reporting via the Financial Times that Cerberus Capital Management has sold more than 50% of its stake in Chrysler LLC and GMAC LLC to a group of around 90 investors. The Freep reports that the investment firm earned up to $1 billion for selling parts of its stake in both companies. Cerberus bought a controlling stake in GM's financial unit back in April of 2006 for $14 billion and bought up Chrysler from Daimler in May of 2007 for $7.4 billion.
Automotive News actually got in touch with a senior Chrysler official today, however, who said bluntly, "Cerberus has not sold any equity in Chrysler." What may be causing the confusion is that when Cerberus bought up 80.1% of Chrysler, it had already aligned itself with co-investors. These 90 investors may have been involved in the transaction from the beginning and own a stake in Cerberus' stake of Chrysler and GMAC. The $1 billion, meanwhile, would then be what Cerberus earned in fees for bringing on the additional investors.
There's clearly a lot of confusion this morning surrounding the Financial Times report and not until Cerberus speaks will we be able to ascertain the nugget of truth amidst all the conjecture.
When the Chrysler 300 dropped on an unsuspecting public in 2004, it was all crisp edges and upright stance, with a bulldog face to help drive home the message of urgent thrust delivered by a reborn Hemi V8. Chrysler's got a refreshing in the pipeline for the 300, and that's giving designers fits. It's akin to sophomore album syndrome – when the original is a huge hit, how, exactly, do you follow it up? Chrysler designers are invoking the Porsche philosophy used to update its 911 through the generations as a roadmap for the 300's body changes, so don't expect anything too dramatic on the outside.
Inside, however, will be where the real action occurs. While not the worst interior Chrysler puts out, it's certainly got room for improvement. Cerberus chairman Steven Feinburg is reportedly passionate about improving the quality of Chrysler's offerings, and the lower quality materials we have today are being jettisoned in favor of more competitive finery. Whether that means competitive with what's out there right now, or as good as what everyone else will have by the time the new 300 hits the market, we don't know. Equipment levels, too, are an area where Chrysler wants to improve. Look for more technology and features that are better executed in the new 300, which the design staff has hopefully not managed to whack with an ugly stick in the name of "continued distinctiveness," or some other marketing double-speak for "we couldn't do better, so we did weird."
