GM, Chrysler "Set Aside" Merger Talks

GM, Chrysler "Set Aside" Merger Talks

By Michelle Krebs

DETROIT -- General Motors confirmed it has ended talks to acquire Chrysler from private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management.

GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner, in a conference call with financial analysts and media on its third-quarter earnings, said GM had explored the possibility of an acquisition of Chrysler. However, he said GM has "set aside" those efforts, choosing instead to focus "100 percent" on its own liquidity. GM will be at minimal cash levels by year-end.

"Such an acquisition could have provided significant benefits," Wagoner acknowledged. "Those would have been neutral or modestly positive in the short term but could have strengthened our financial position in the long term." 

Michelle Krebs:  is Editor-in-Chief of AutoObserver.com. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.