U.S. grants Detroit 3, suppliers millions for fuel savings, jobs

Detroit -- The Obama administration awarded $187 million in grants Monday to major automakers and suppliers to boost fuel efficiency.
---...More

read more...

U.S. encouraged by Fiat plan for Chrysler

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government is encouraged by the turnaround plan for Chrysler presented by Fiat SpA (FIA.MI) but will not push for a quick offering of the automaker's shares, a senior official said.

"We see management with a huge sense of urgency. We see a huge dedication and commitment, working extremely hard," Ron Bloom, who heads the Obama administration's autos task force told Reuters on Tuesday. "It's an ambitious plan."

The U.S. Treasury directed and funded a restructuring of the No. 3 U.S. automaker in bankruptcy that gave operational control of Chrysler and an initial 20-percent stake to Fiat....More

read more...

Chrysler News-U.S. Reaches Deal With Chrysler Banks, Person Says

By John Hughes

April 28 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. has reached agreement with banks on terms to reduce debt of Chrysler LLC, according to a person with knowledge of the negotiations.

The banks’ representatives agreed to forgo $6.9 billion in debt in return for $2 billion in cash, said the person, who declined to be identified discussing the private talks. The deal is one of the steps Chrysler needed to avoid a bankruptcy after April 30.

Bankruptcy remains a possibility for Chrysler, the person said. All 46 banks involved need to ratify the terms, and it isn’t likely that all would, the person said. In that case, a quick, surgical type of bankruptcy may be needed to bring any dissenting banks into an agreement, the person said.

Chrysler, operating with $4 billion in U.S. loans, faces an April 30 deadline to restructure its costs or risk losing government support.

Shawn Morgan, a Chrysler spokeswoman, declined to comment.

read more...

Chrysler News-U.S. Tries to Broker Sale Of Chrysler's Loan Arm

The Treasury Department is racing to engineer the sale of Chrysler's financing arm in a move the administration deems vital to saving the troubled automaker, but other federal agencies have not given their support, sources familiar with the matter said.

The Obama administration wants the nation's largest auto-financing company, GMAC, to buy Chrysler Financial, which is the primary source of lending for Chrysler dealerships and car buyers, industry officials said. But GMAC needs a new round of backing to buy its longtime rival, sources said.

Treasury officials have not yet obtained the agreement of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Federal Reserve, sources said. The FDIC, created to backstop the banking industry, is balking out of concern that its resources would be drained in support of an auto manufacturer. And the Fed, which regulates banks, would need to grant a waiver from a long-standing rule that separates banking and commerce.

The dilemma over Chrysler Financial highlights the debate over the how far the government should stretch its financial rescue programs to help failing automakers. Despite reservations, regulators already anointed GMAC a bank holding company in December so it could access the federal bailout for financial companies and help preserve General Motors. Now regulators are being asked to preserve another storied American automaker.

Even if a deal is reached for Chrysler Financial, the fate of the car manufacturer remains uncertain. The Obama administration's auto industry task force and Chrysler's lenders remained in a standoff yesterday. If an agreement with the lenders cannot be reached to forgive most of their $6.9 billion in loans to the company, Chrysler is set to file for bankruptcy by Thursday, sources said. The sources spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the discussions....More

read more...

U.S. may swap GM debt for equity

Possible move would improve automaker's shaky balance sheet

Article From
David Shepardson and Robert Snell / The Detroit News

The federal government may agree to swap some of its $13.4 billion in General Motors Corp. debt for new equity in the company in a move to help boost GM's balance sheet, a person familiar with the matter said Monday.

The government is in discussions with GM as the automaker tries to accelerate its restructuring ahead of a June 1 deadline to wrest concessions from bondholders and the United Auto Workers or face bankruptcy.

In January, GM granted the Treasury Department warrants for 122 million shares, 19.99 percent of the automaker's outstanding common stock, with an exercise price of $3.57. It's not clear how the warrants would be affected in bankruptcy court.

read more...

Chrysler News:U.S. $3 billion loan part of Chrysler-Fiat deal

DETROIT (Reuters) – Chrysler LLC's deal with Fiat SpA (FIA.MI) depends on the U.S. automaker receiving an additional $3 billion emergency loan from the U.S. government, the company's product development chief said on Wednesday.

"I think that is part of the deal," Frank Klegon said when asked if the automaker needed the additional $3 billion for the Fiat deal to be completed. "That is part of the process. The expectation is that that is an important part of it."

Chrysler, which had asked for $7 billion, received $4 billion U.S. emergency loan on January 2. The automaker has said it is counting on getting the rest of the money to keep operating.

Klegon believed the $3 billion of additional government aid was part of a term sheet Chrysler had with Fiat on the alliance. Chrysler has been calling the request for additional support a second tranche, or the second half of the original $7 billion of aid it sought late last year.

Chrysler, owned by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, announced on Monday an alliance with Fiat that would give the Italian automaker a 35 percent stake in Chrysler in exchange for access to its technology and overseas markets.

Fiat would help Chrysler put together the restructuring plan Chrysler has to submit to the U.S. government by February 17.

Klegon said the U.S. Treasury had been alerted to the deal and he hoped it would approve of the agreement.

Klegon said discussions had been going on with Fiat on the product side for some time.

"I had no knowledge there was a bigger discussion going on," he said, adding the deal does not bar the automaker from other alliances.

Klegon said Chrysler's alliance with Nissan Motor Co Ltd (7201.T) that would provide small cars to Chrysler and large trucks to Nissan was still going forward, as was Chrysler's minivan production for Volkswagen AG (VOWG.DE).

Klegon did not know if Chrysler would keep all three brands, but, ultimately, that would not be the product development chief's call.

"Cerberus are the guys making the deals. They are the ones who at the end of the day negotiate with Fiat," he said. "We are obviously engaged as the operating side and the product side, but the actual deal is under Cerberus leadership."

Under the terms of the deal, which has to be approved by the U.S. government, Fiat would not pay cash for its stake in Chrysler.

Chrysler's sales tumbled 30 percent in 2008 and it ended the year with only $2 billion in cash and reliant on a government bailout to stay afloat.

Chrysler, which owns the Jeep, Dodge and Chrysler brands, is 80.1 percent owned by Cerberus, which paid $7.4 billion for its stake in 2007. Former Chrysler parent Daimler AG (DAIGn.DE) holds the rest of Chrysler and is looking to sell its stake.

Daimler has written down the value of its remaining 19.9 percent stake in Chrysler to zero.

Fiat has said it could raise its stake beyond the initial 35 percent, but that step would depend on the success of Chrysler's restructuring.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta and David Bailey; Editing by Andre Grenon)

read more...