Chrysler, Out Of “The Penalty Box”
Personally, I had nagging doubts that this could be done so quickly and with surgical precision.
Regardless, applause is in order;
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved the sale of substantially all of U.S. automaker Chrysler’s assets to a group led by Italy’s Fiat hours before an expected bankruptcy filing by General Motors.
Judge Arthur Gonzalez approved the $2 billion sale of the assets to a new company that will be 68 percent controlled by a healthcare trust aligned with the United Auto Workers union.
Fiat will control 20 percent, the U.S. and Canadian governments will control the other 12 percent.
Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection on April 30 to complete the sale and alliance with Fiat within 60 days in a case that analysts have seen as a test for the much bigger and more complex bankruptcy of GM.
The plan vindicates the White House, which had been criticized by many bankruptcy specialists for setting a seemingly unrealistic goal of bringing the automaker’s operations through Chapter 11 in as little as 30 days.
President George W. Bush provided the necessary ingredient to make this all happen and that was time. It will take tremendous effort to ensure that is reflected when the history is written.
Subscribe to blog feed.
June 1st, 2009 at 4:59 am
How will an healthcare trust aligned with an autoworker union manage this beast, especially when it the mess is attached to Fiat which has difficulty making cars aging Europeans want? Oh, I get it: this is ironic!
June 1st, 2009 at 6:00 am
The Toyota Republicans were proven right on all counts.