GM wants 30% of Fiat, NY Times reports

Marchionne plans to run Chrysler



Automotive News Europe
May 7, 2009 10:00 CET

(Reuters) -- U.S. carmaker General Motors Corp is eyeing a stake in Italian peer Fiat S.p.A. in exchange for the U.S. automaker's European and Latin American operations, the New York Times reported on its Web site.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has indicated a willingness to give up less than 10 percent of Fiat to GM, the paper said, citing two people close to the negotiations.

However, GM executives are looking for at least 30 percent of Fiat's auto division, the people told the newspaper.

GM feels its Latin American unit is a bargaining chip in negotiations with Fiat, according to the paper.

A Fiat spokesman said the group had no comment.

GM could not be immediately reached for comment by Reuters.

Saab bids examined

GM is running due diligence on about 10 bidders for Saab, after the first round of bids for the Swedish brand attracted Chinese automakers, European investor groups and private equity firms, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.

Fiat, which has agreed to acquire a stake in Chrysler LLC, has said it wants to merge its car unit with GM's European operations, which include Opel and Saab, to create the world's second-largest automaker after Toyota Motor Corp .

Control of Chrysler

Separately, Marchionne told Bloomberg in an interview on Wednesday that he plans to take the top spot at Chrysler LLC after the automaker emerges from bankruptcy

"Chrysler is on track to re-emerge from bankruptcy in 60 days," Marchionne said in the interview. "I will become Chrysler CEO after that." The idea has been discussed in meetings with the U.S. Treasury, he told Bloomberg.
 

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non ci capisco piu' una mazza!

stando al NYT Fiat non sarebbe disposta a dare piu' del 10%.

Speriamo! 9.3 cabrio, arrivo ....


 

cioè gli ammericani hanno pagato per non comprarla pochi anni fà, e adesso gli danno delle loro filiali senza prendere soldi ma solopartecipazioni....

Marchionne imho stà vendendo la fontana di trevi ad Obama !!! 

Intanto non è che GM se la passi poi tanto bene...

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G.M. Posts a Quarterly Loss of $6 Billion
 by NICK BUNKLEY, www.nytimes.com
Published: May 7, 2009


DETROIT — General Motors, which faces a June 1 deadline to cut debt and expenses or else file for bankruptcy protection, on Thursday said it lost $6 billion in the first quarter.

G.M. said it depleted $10.2 billion from its cash reserves in the quarter, or $113 million a day, leaving the company with $11.6 billion as of March 31. That is roughly the minimum amount of liquidity needed to keep G.M. in business, the automaker has said.

“Our first-quarter results underscore the importance of executing G.M.’s revised viability plan, which goes further and faster to lower our break-even point,” G.M.’s chief executive, Fritz Henderson, said in a statement.

The first-quarter loss, equal to $9.78 per share, is the eighth consecutive quarterly loss for G.M. A year ago, the company lost $3.3 billion, or $5.80 a share.

Excluding special items, G.M. lost $5.9 billion, or $9.66 a share, which is better than the $6.7 billion that analysts were expecting the company to lose.

Revenue fell 47 percent to $22.4 billion due to a 40 percent drop in global sales during the quarter.

G.M. has borrowed $15.4 billion from the federal government since December to stay afloat, and the company says it needs $11.6 billion more. But the chances that it will end up in bankruptcy court at the end of this month are growing, particularly after Chrysler’s Chapter 11 filing last week.

Mr. Henderson, who took over running the company after the Obama administration forced Rick Wagoner to resign a month ago, has said bankruptcy is a probable outcome for G.M. but one that executives still hope to avoid.

G.M. is resuming negotiations with the United Automobile Workers union on Thursday as it seeks a deal to cut labor costs before the government’s deadline. The company also has offered to swap equity for more than $27 billion in debt held by bondholders, but analysts are skeptical of the chances that enough of the bondholders will accept the deal.

Under a plan unveiled last week, G.M. would give a majority stake in a restructured version of itself to the Treasury Department and more than a third of the company would be held by the U.A.W.’s new retiree health care fund.

Bondholders would own roughly 10 percent and existing shareholders would account for just 1 percent of the new company. G.M. is planning a reverse stock split, which would turn every 100 shares outstanding into one new share. Shares of G.M. have lost more than 90 percent of their value in the last year as the company has descended toward a possible bankruptcy.

As part of its restructuring, G.M. now says it will, by the end of 2010, cut 21,000 factory jobs, close 13 plants and get rid of about 2,600 dealerships. More job cuts and plant closings would occur in later years.

G.M. intends to slash its brand portfolio in half, by closing Pontiac and trying to sell Saturn, Saab and Hummer.

“This is a defining moment in the history of General Motors, and we are committed to our plan, which we believe will lead to a stable and sustainable operating structure with a strong balance sheet,” Mr. Henderson said. “Our goal is to fix this business once and for all to position ourselves to win in the long-term.”