REPORTS: Cerberus nears deal for Chrysler

Various news reports today said private equity firm Cerberus Capital
Management could be named the winning bidder for the Chrysler Group as early
as Monday. Details on the price or other terms of the offer were not clear
today.
The Detroit News reported today that Cerberus and DaimlerChrysler AG had
reached an agreement. The Wall Street Journal said negotiations were
continuing Sunday night. Reuters said a deal was close and an announcement
could come Monday. Sources were unidentified.
The Wall Street Journal said Chrysler Chief Executive Tom LaSorda would
continue to run the company while former Chrysler chief operating officer
and Cerberus adviser Wolfgang Bernhard would not have an executive role, but
could have a board seat.

On this particular day of this month, in the Year Of The Golden Pig, rob
did state:

> Various news reports today said private equity firm Cerberus Capital
> Management could be named the winning bidder for the Chrysler Group as
> early as Monday. Details on the price or other terms of the offer were
> not clear today.
> The Detroit News reported today that Cerberus and DaimlerChrysler AG had
> reached an agreement. The Wall Street Journal said negotiations were
> continuing Sunday night. Reuters said a deal was close and an
> announcement could come Monday. Sources were unidentified. The Wall
> Street Journal said Chrysler Chief Executive Tom LaSorda would continue
> to run the company while former Chrysler chief operating officer and
> Cerberus adviser Wolfgang Bernhard would not have an executive role, but
> could have a board seat.

What a great name for a company!

It /really/ inspires confidence on their tentacled business tactics and
potential behaviour:


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberus

In Greek mythology, Cerberus or Kerberos (Greek -------, Kerberos,
"demon of the pit") was the hound of Hades, a monstrous three-headed dog
(sometimes said to have 50 or 100 heads) with a snake for a tail; he was
also seen with a dragon's tail and serpentine mane.

Cerberus guarded the gate to Hades and ensured that spirits of the dead
could enter, but none could exit (additionally no living person was to
come into Hades). Among his siblings are; his sister, Chimera and his
brother, Hydra. He is the offspring of Echidna and Typhon.

He was overcome several times:


* Hercules' final labour was to capture Cerberus, which he did by
wrestling it into submission.

* Orpheus used his musical skills to
lull Cerberus to sleep.

* Hermes put him to sleep with water from the
river Lethe.

* In Roman mythology, The Sybil of Cumae lulled Cerberus
to sleep with drugged honeycakes in order to permit Aeneas fuller
entry to the underworld.

* In a Greek tale, Psyche also lulled
Cerberus to sleep with drugged honeycakes.

In the Greek Oracle of the Dead at Cumae in southern Italy, the recently
excavated subterranean shrine was found to contain chains fixed to the
wall for three large dogs before the entrance to the shrine of Hades and
Persephone. The three dogs would have represented Cerberus in this ancient
temple.


-- 30 --


What's in a name?

It all depends.

Take the insurance and investment company 'Wachovia'....

Dependent on pronunciation, we have two distinct possibilities.

Use a soft 'ch' and we have phonetically 'watch ova ya'; nice and comfy,
eh?

Use a hard 'ch' and you have phonetically 'walk ova ya'; not so nice and
comfy.

The latter is the correct pronunciation.

--
From: (via teranews)

> > Reported to: , ,


> And they are very tired of you.

Message-ID: >

Yes, there's a bitch that replies to me, kinda telling me the
problem's with the Canadian Shaw's personnel. But prescience pays off and
long as you violate the groups charter, or just Usenet's common decency,
I'll be there to report you. You being a traitor is a especial incentive.

--
When you come to a fork in the road, take it.

-- Yogi Berra

Today, rob made these interesting comments ...

> Various news reports today said private equity firm Cerberus
> Capital Management could be named the winning bidder for the
> Chrysler Group as early as Monday. Details on the price or
> other terms of the offer were not clear today.
> The Detroit News reported today that Cerberus and
> DaimlerChrysler AG had reached an agreement. The Wall Street
> Journal said negotiations were continuing Sunday night.
> Reuters said a deal was close and an announcement could come
> Monday. Sources were unidentified. The Wall Street Journal
> said Chrysler Chief Executive Tom LaSorda would continue to
> run the company while former Chrysler chief operating officer
> and Cerberus adviser Wolfgang Bernhard would not have an
> executive role, but could have a board seat.
>
My personal belief - and prediction - is that Wolfgang Bernhard
WILL be given a prominent role in running the The New Chrysler.
You may recall that he'd been promoted as head of Mercedes-Benz
back in 2005 after he and Deiter Zetsche returned to Germany
thinking their work at Chrysler was done. But, Bernhard is a
hothead and speaks before thinking, and he began to pontificate
about all the changes he intended to make to shake the cobwebs
out of M-B, and promptly found himself without a job at all,
fired by Jurghen Schremp. He landed at Volkswagen and was poised
to become its CEO when he started tangling with Ferdinance Puce
(sp.), CEO of parent company Porsche and got canned again back in
January.

I believe that Zetsche has been quietly negotiating with Bernhard
for a year or two to bring him back to DCX. I think that's why
Dr. Z decided to run M-B himself once he officially became DCX
CEO on January 1, 2006. So, my prediction is this: he will offer
the top spot at M-B to Bernhard on condition that he once again
rescue Chrysler from itself. And, contrary to the article in the
Detroit News and what I've learned from other sources, I think
the days of a couple of top executives at Chrysler, primarily Tom
LaSorda, are numbered. Again, you may recall what really got Jim
Holden canned in 2000 - he was Bob Eaton's hand-picked successor
- was that he was telling DCX management glowingly of Chrysler's
growing sales, revenues, and profits when it became obvious that
the opposite was true. Likewise, I don't think that LaSorda
endeared himself to Zetsche by missing the mark by over $1.2B on
the 3Q06 loss.

Then, there's the union problem.

In Germany, the unions which control 50% of the real power in any
AG, the Supervisory Board, do not want their power and influence
dilluted by American and Canadian union concessions, so they are
pretty steadfastly opposed to selling Chrysler. OTOH, no serious
buyer whether it be Cerberus (however it is really spelled),
Magna, GM, or anyone else on the short list, is likely to buy
Chrysler this summer prior to this fall's union negotiations.
Both the UAW and CAW have been very vocal in their opposition to
any sale which means that the new buyer could face a tough
contract renewal negotiation and a likely strike. And, I believe,
any serious buyer would want Zetsche to "buy up" some of the
estimated $18B in healthcare and pension liabilities, a goodly
portition unfunded, before they will buy. It makes no sense to me
whatsoever for anyone to pay $5-7B for a company presumeably
worth no more than $7-9B with revenues as small as Chrysler and
with shrinking market share and absorb both bad union relatioons
from day one and a true cost of around $25B+.

So, we'll just have to wait and see what unfolds in the coming
weeks. One more item to consider: besides really requiring union
approval in both countries, creditor approval is also a
requirement as is approval from key stock regulatory groups such
as the SEC.

--
HP, aka Jerry

Today, §qu@re Wheels made these interesting comments ...

> On this particular day of this month, in the Year Of The
> Golden Pig, rob did state:
>
>> Various news reports today said private equity firm Cerberus
>> Capital Management could be named the winning bidder for the
>> Chrysler Group as early as Monday. Details on the price or
>> other terms of the offer were not clear today.
>> The Detroit News reported today that Cerberus and
>> DaimlerChrysler AG had reached an agreement. The Wall Street
>> Journal said negotiations were continuing Sunday night.
>> Reuters said a deal was close and an announcement could come
>> Monday. Sources were unidentified. The Wall Street Journal
>> said Chrysler Chief Executive Tom LaSorda would continue to
>> run the company while former Chrysler chief operating officer
>> and Cerberus adviser Wolfgang Bernhard would not have an
>> executive role, but could have a board seat.
>
> What a great name for a company!
>
> It /really/ inspires confidence on their tentacled business
> tactics and potential behaviour:

Yes! They could bring back Plymouth with a retro link back to the
Plymouth Twine Company, the original source of the name Walter P.
chose for his new low-cost car.
>
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberus
>
> In Greek mythology, Cerberus or Kerberos (Greek -------,
> Kerberos, "demon of the pit") was the hound of Hades, a
> monstrous three-headed dog (sometimes said to have 50 or 100
> heads) with a snake for a tail; he was also seen with a
> dragon's tail and serpentine mane.
>
> Cerberus guarded the gate to Hades and ensured that spirits of
> the dead could enter, but none could exit (additionally no
> living person was to come into Hades). Among his siblings are;
> his sister, Chimera and his brother, Hydra. He is the
> offspring of Echidna and Typhon.
>
> He was overcome several times:
>
>
> * Hercules' final labour was to capture Cerberus, which he did
> by
> wrestling it into submission.
>
> * Orpheus used his musical skills to
> lull Cerberus to sleep.
>
> * Hermes put him to sleep with water from the
> river Lethe.
>
> * In Roman mythology, The Sybil of Cumae lulled Cerberus
> to sleep with drugged honeycakes in order to permit Aeneas
> fuller entry to the underworld.
>
> * In a Greek tale, Psyche also lulled
> Cerberus to sleep with drugged honeycakes.
>
> In the Greek Oracle of the Dead at Cumae in southern Italy,
> the recently excavated subterranean shrine was found to
> contain chains fixed to the wall for three large dogs before
> the entrance to the shrine of Hades and Persephone. The three
> dogs would have represented Cerberus in this ancient temple.
>
>
> -- 30 --
>
>
> What's in a name?
>
> It all depends.
>
> Take the insurance and investment company 'Wachovia'....
>
> Dependent on pronunciation, we have two distinct
> possibilities.
>
> Use a soft 'ch' and we have phonetically 'watch ova ya'; nice
> and comfy, eh?
>
> Use a hard 'ch' and you have phonetically 'walk ova ya'; not
> so nice and comfy.
>
> The latter is the correct pronunciation.
>



--
HP, aka Jerry

damn I didn't read your post before I went to wikipedia! LOL

"demon of the pit" ...oh boy!

"§qu@re Wheels" > wrote in message
news:K2S1i.182967$6m4.70367@pd7urf1no...
> On this particular day of this month, in the Year Of The Golden Pig, rob
> did state:
>
>> Various news reports today said private equity firm Cerberus Capital
>> Management could be named the winning bidder for the Chrysler Group as
>> early as Monday. Details on the price or other terms of the offer were
>> not clear today.
>> The Detroit News reported today that Cerberus and DaimlerChrysler AG had
>> reached an agreement. The Wall Street Journal said negotiations were
>> continuing Sunday night. Reuters said a deal was close and an
>> announcement could come Monday. Sources were unidentified. The Wall
>> Street Journal said Chrysler Chief Executive Tom LaSorda would continue
>> to run the company while former Chrysler chief operating officer and
>> Cerberus adviser Wolfgang Bernhard would not have an executive role, but
>> could have a board seat.
>
> What a great name for a company!
>
> It /really/ inspires confidence on their tentacled business tactics and
> potential behaviour:
>
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberus
>
> In Greek mythology, Cerberus or Kerberos (Greek -------, Kerberos,
> "demon of the pit") was the hound of Hades, a monstrous three-headed dog
> (sometimes said to have 50 or 100 heads) with a snake for a tail; he was
> also seen with a dragon's tail and serpentine mane.
>
> Cerberus guarded the gate to Hades and ensured that spirits of the dead
> could enter, but none could exit (additionally no living person was to
> come into Hades). Among his siblings are; his sister, Chimera and his
> brother, Hydra. He is the offspring of Echidna and Typhon.
>
> He was overcome several times:
>
>
> * Hercules' final labour was to capture Cerberus, which he did by
> wrestling it into submission.
>
> * Orpheus used his musical skills to
> lull Cerberus to sleep.
>
> * Hermes put him to sleep with water from the
> river Lethe.
>
> * In Roman mythology, The Sybil of Cumae lulled Cerberus
> to sleep with drugged honeycakes in order to permit Aeneas fuller
> entry to the underworld.
>
> * In a Greek tale, Psyche also lulled
> Cerberus to sleep with drugged honeycakes.
>
> In the Greek Oracle of the Dead at Cumae in southern Italy, the recently
> excavated subterranean shrine was found to contain chains fixed to the
> wall for three large dogs before the entrance to the shrine of Hades and
> Persephone. The three dogs would have represented Cerberus in this ancient
> temple.
>
>
> -- 30 --
>
>
> What's in a name?
>
> It all depends.
>
> Take the insurance and investment company 'Wachovia'....
>
> Dependent on pronunciation, we have two distinct possibilities.
>
> Use a soft 'ch' and we have phonetically 'watch ova ya'; nice and comfy,
> eh?
>
> Use a hard 'ch' and you have phonetically 'walk ova ya'; not so nice and
> comfy.
>
> The latter is the correct pronunciation.
>
> --
> From: (via teranews)
>
>> > Reported to: , ,
>
>
>> And they are very tired of you.
>
> Message-ID: >
>
> Yes, there's a bitch that replies to me, kinda telling me the
> problem's with the Canadian Shaw's personnel. But prescience pays off and
> long as you violate the groups charter, or just Usenet's common decency,
> I'll be there to report you. You being a traitor is a especial incentive.
>

Ha. Up in the northeast USofA we have.....the M-T Bank! Ya can't make this
stuff up folks.
john

"§qu@re Wheels" > wrote in message
news:K2S1i.182967$6m4.70367@pd7urf1no...
> On this particular day of this month, in the Year Of The Golden Pig, rob
> did state:
>
>> Various news reports today said private equity firm Cerberus Capital
>> Management could be named the winning bidder for the Chrysler Group as
>> early as Monday. Details on the price or other terms of the offer were
>> not clear today.
>> The Detroit News reported today that Cerberus and DaimlerChrysler AG had
>> reached an agreement. The Wall Street Journal said negotiations were
>> continuing Sunday night. Reuters said a deal was close and an
>> announcement could come Monday. Sources were unidentified. The Wall
>> Street Journal said Chrysler Chief Executive Tom LaSorda would continue
>> to run the company while former Chrysler chief operating officer and
>> Cerberus adviser Wolfgang Bernhard would not have an executive role, but
>> could have a board seat.
>
> What a great name for a company!
>
> It /really/ inspires confidence on their tentacled business tactics and
> potential behaviour:
>
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cerberus
>
> In Greek mythology, Cerberus or Kerberos (Greek -------, Kerberos,
> "demon of the pit") was the hound of Hades, a monstrous three-headed dog
> (sometimes said to have 50 or 100 heads) with a snake for a tail; he was
> also seen with a dragon's tail and serpentine mane.
>
> Cerberus guarded the gate to Hades and ensured that spirits of the dead
> could enter, but none could exit (additionally no living person was to
> come into Hades). Among his siblings are; his sister, Chimera and his
> brother, Hydra. He is the offspring of Echidna and Typhon.
>
> He was overcome several times:
>
>
> * Hercules' final labour was to capture Cerberus, which he did by
> wrestling it into submission.
>
> * Orpheus used his musical skills to
> lull Cerberus to sleep.
>
> * Hermes put him to sleep with water from the
> river Lethe.
>
> * In Roman mythology, The Sybil of Cumae lulled Cerberus
> to sleep with drugged honeycakes in order to permit Aeneas fuller
> entry to the underworld.
>
> * In a Greek tale, Psyche also lulled
> Cerberus to sleep with drugged honeycakes.
>
> In the Greek Oracle of the Dead at Cumae in southern Italy, the recently
> excavated subterranean shrine was found to contain chains fixed to the
> wall for three large dogs before the entrance to the shrine of Hades and
> Persephone. The three dogs would have represented Cerberus in this ancient
> temple.
>
>
> -- 30 --
>
>
> What's in a name?
>
> It all depends.
>
> Take the insurance and investment company 'Wachovia'....
>
> Dependent on pronunciation, we have two distinct possibilities.
>
> Use a soft 'ch' and we have phonetically 'watch ova ya'; nice and comfy,
> eh?
>
> Use a hard 'ch' and you have phonetically 'walk ova ya'; not so nice and
> comfy.
>
> The latter is the correct pronunciation.
>
> --
> From: (via teranews)
>
>> > Reported to: , ,
>
>
>> And they are very tired of you.
>
> Message-ID: >
>
> Yes, there's a bitch that replies to me, kinda telling me the
> problem's with the Canadian Shaw's personnel. But prescience pays off and
> long as you violate the groups charter, or just Usenet's common decency,
> I'll be there to report you. You being a traitor is a especial incentive.
>

really?


hmmmmmmm


"John Bradley" > wrote in message
...
> And a leeetle teeeny blurb today - during all the DCX divorce news - about
> the Ford Family bailing on their own company. Bye-bye.
> john
>
> ""§qu@re Wheels""
> <mostly_harmless@pangalactic_vector_exchange_trans ponder31_universe.net>
> wrote in message news:LMU1i.181493$DE1.87139@pd7urf2no...
>>
>>
>> --
>> When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
>>
>> -- Yogi Berra
>>
>>
>
>

Ford family says not discussing sale of holdings
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/f...84&k=26226&p=1
Poornima Gupta, Reuters
Published: Monday, May 14, 2007
By Poornima Gupta

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co.'s founding family said on Monday it was
not discussing the sale of its controlling stake in the No. 2 U.S.
automaker, even though they met last month with a Wall Street advisory firm.

The Ford family controls almost 40 percent of the voting power at the
automaker through a separate class of shares established when the company
went public in 1956

The family's stake of almost 71 million Class B shares represents only about
4 percent of Ford shares outstanding but each family share carries 16 votes
compared to the single vote for each share of common stock.
"The Ford family is not discussing the sale of its holdings in Ford Motor
Company," attorney David Hempstead said on behalf of the family on Monday.
"Statements attributable to unnamed sources are untrue."

A person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named told Reuters on
Monday the Ford family had met with representatives of an investment bank
last month, but it has not retained any firm to advise it on its controlling
stake in the automaker.

Ford has been cutting jobs and closing factories to turn itself around as it
loses market share to foreign competitors. Earlier in May it said that
25,000 factory workers had left its payroll after taking buyouts, and it
said it would close a Cleveland casting plant and idle a nearby engine plant
for a year.

The company posted a record loss of $12.7 billion in 2006 and another $282
million loss in the first quarter.

Ford shares were up 4.4 percent to $8.74 in late afternoon trading. Earlier
they were up 4.8 percent, their biggest percentage gain in more than six
months.

The gains were sparked partly by a Bloomberg report that founding family
members were weighing the sale of a part of their controlling stake in Ford,
said Kevin Tynan, an analyst with Argus Research.

The proposed sale of competitor Chrysler Group to Cerberus Capital
Management also raised expectations of a faster and broader restructuring
for the U.S. auto industry, sparking gains for both Ford and GM, analysts at
JP Morgan and Bear Stearns said in notes. GM shares were up 3.5 percent at
$30.49 in late afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

Tynan said that a dilution of the Ford family's holdings in the company
could be positive for shareholders.

"If they also wind up with a private equity deal, it gives shareholders a
little flexibility, which has been difficult because of the controlling
stake of the family," Tynan said. "It's been very difficult to implement any
change."

The Detroit News reported last week that some members of the Ford family met
with Wall Street firm Perella Weinberg on April 21. The principals of that
firm have a track record of arranging corporate mergers and acquisitions.

The newspaper reported that Steven Hamp, brother-in-law to Ford's Executive
Chairman Bill Ford Jr. and his former chief of staff, said the possibility
of selling the Ford family's interest in the company did not come up at that
meeting.

A Ford spokesman on Monday confirmed Hamp's statement.

A proposal to eliminate Ford's Class B shares was voted down at Ford's
annual meeting last week with 27 percent of votes cast in favor of the
proposal which had been opposed by the Ford board.

Bill Ford Jr., the great-grandson of founder Henry Ford, has repeatedly
defended the dual stock structure as a benefit to shareholders.

Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally told reporters after the shareholder
meeting in Delaware last Thursday that Ford family members were "very, very
supportive of the changes" the auto maker has been making. "They are
shareholders; they believe in Ford and want Ford to be successf

And a leeetle teeeny blurb today - during all the DCX divorce news - about
the Ford Family bailing on their own company. Bye-bye.
john

""§qu@re Wheels""
<mostly_harmless@pangalactic_vector_exchange_trans ponder31_universe.net>
wrote in message news:LMU1i.181493$DE1.87139@pd7urf2no...
>
>
> --
> When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
>
> -- Yogi Berra
>
>