Tuesday, October 14, 2008
General Motors and Chrysler in merger talks?
General Motors has reportedly been in talks with rival American manufacturer Chrysler about a possible merger. The Wall Street Journal reported that GM was in talks with Cerberus Capital Management, which owns 80.1 per cent of Chrysler, about trading its stake in the auto lender GMAC Financial Services for Cerberus's automotive operations. GM Europe has publically opposed the move but both companies are struggling, with GM reportedly losing $1bn (£588m) per month and Chrysler's debt around 30 cents in the dollar. Last week, GM's share price slumped to a 60-year low. Klaus Franz, GM Europe's top labour representative, told the Handelsblatt newspaper the merger would be "an absolute catastrophe". He said both companies were struggling and neither would help the other out of its current predicament. DATED: 14.10.08 FEED: MT |
