So it’s confirmed. DaimlerChrysler has sold most of its ailing US car unit Chrysler to American private equity firm Cerberus for $7.4bn. Most – because it will be keeping a 19.9% stake.
Unsurprisingly, DaimlerChrysler will now be putting a name change to an EGM given that half of its title is no longer relevant. The proposed new name? Er, Daimler AG, of course.
The price paid by Cerberus is a fifth of the $35bn paid by Daimler back in 1998, underlining just how tough business has been for Chrysler over recent years. Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian last month offered just $4.5bn for the division. And the risk to the buyout firm’s reputation could be sizable, given the carmaker’s ability to lose money.
Cerberus, of course, is the name given in Greek mythology to the three-headed dog guarding hell. He wasn’t very good at his job, having been drugged to sleep on a couple of occasions, put to sleep once with water from a river and also sung to sleep. He was also captured by Hercules as part of his final labour.
For the modern Cerberus, nodding off at the wheel isn’t really an option.