At the forthcoming annual meeting of DaimlerChrysler scheduled on April 4th in Berlin, two German shareholders will propose the change of name of the company to Daimler-Benz AG which is its old name. The change is anticipated to happen after the sale of Chrysler. But it will not happen later than March 31 next year.
"It will be a very popular resolution among the individual German shareholders," predicted Ekkehard Wenger, a longtime shareholder activist and a sponsor of the resolution. On the other hand, DaimlerChrysler opposes the resolution and urged shareholders to vote against it. "The DaimlerChrysler name is established all over the world," the company said on its Web site. "There are no grounds to change the name of the corporation."
What would happen if Chrysler is sold? DaimlerChrysler spokesman Thomas Froehlich said, "We don't speculate on what would happen if we chose one option. Up to now, all the options are open."
With German shareholders asserting a Chrysler sale, Gov. Jennifer Granholm met with DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche in Germany Tuesday to urge him and the company to stay in Michigan. United Auto Workers (UAW) President Ron Gettelfinger reiterated his hope that Chrysler will remain to be a part of DaimlerChrysler.
"I asked about the prospect of selling Chrysler, but he's not in a position to talk about that at the moment, so we did not go very far with that," Granholm told the press after her 45-minute meeting with Zetsche. But she said she was optimistic that, whatever happens, "there will be a strong DaimlerChrysler or Chrysler presence in Michigan in some way, shape or form."
Earlier, it was reported that the Blackstone Group and the Cerberus Capital Management, both private equity firms, have emerged as the lead contenders to acquire Chrysler. Moreover, Canadian auto supplier Magna International Inc. could serve as a minority partner with a private equity firm. This report has build up the potential sale issue. The sparkle of the issue is much interesting than the sparks of a . And almost everyone is left flabbergasted.
The Critical Shareholders, a group opposed to the merger from the outset, faulted Zetsche for failing to sell Chrysler in 2004 and 2005 when it was profitable. "Instead of that, Dr. Dieter Zetsche reacted far too late and waited for Chrysler's latest loss" of $1.5 billion for 2006, it said.
Wall Street analyst Hoselton reported Tuesday that Blackstone and Cerberus were among several suitors that visited Chrysler's Auburn Hills offices last week to review the automaker's finances as part of a process that could result in an offer as soon as the end of this month.
He wrote that the likely scenario could be a partnership in which Magna would have a 30 percent to 40 percent minority stake for about $1.5 billion, with a private equity fund as the majority investor. Magna, which does about 25 percent of its business with Chrysler, would be responsible for running Chrysler factories for the private equity buyer, the report stated.
"While we believe (Magna) remains interested in taking significant action toward Chrysler, our sources indicate the likelihood of such actions is now much reduced," Hoselton wrote. Hoselton added that there is a 50-50 chance that Chrysler will be sold. "To really make the combination valuable to Daimler, you have to start really integrating the two companies and that would be a pretty significant choice or decision for Dieter to make," he said. "My sense is it's pretty risky."
Gettelfinger, the UAW union leader, has this to say: "We want to keep the Chrysler Group in the DaimlerChrysler family. But we're realistic, we know there's a lot going on and we'll deal with it as we can."
