Chrysler Has Rosy Future, Zetsche Says
June 25, 2007

Chrysler has a rosy future, says DaimlerChrysler CEO Dieter Zetsche.

"The coming years are going to be good," Zetsche told Germany's daily Der Tagesspiegel in an article published Monday.

Cerberus Capital Management, the private equity firm that bought 80.1 percent of Chrysler, hopes investors see the automaker’s future as rosy as it takes its show on the road seeking investors.

Wall Street banks involved in the financing for the deal start meeting with prospective investors this week aimed at raising money for the deal.

J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Bear Stearns Cos., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and Morgan Stanley have committed to raising money for a deal that will require Cerberus to arrange about $62 billion in debt. The fund raising is expected to be closely watched because of its large amount and the challenges facing Chrysler.

As for DaimlerChrysler, Zetsche pointed out to the German newspaper that the risk of being taken over by a financial investor was much lower after the sale.

The risk of others influencing the company...is today clearly lower," Zetsche said. "A year ago the company was worth less than 35 billion euros ($47.09 billion), today it's about 70 billion euros," he added.

Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:14 AM under Chrysler , Commentary | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine