laut mehreren Analysten in USA,Gewerkschaften strikt gegen private equity firms und steht angeblich schon in Verhandlungen mit Magna DETROIT (AP) - Canadian auto parts supplier Magna International Inc. has emerged as the front-runner in the bidding to grab a significant stake in the Chrysler Group, according to several industry analysts.'We now believe there is increased likelihood that MGA could take a direct minority ownership stake in Chrysler,' KeyBanc Capital Markets analyst Brett Hoselton wrote Friday in a note to investors. Magna also appears to be the favorite of Chrysler's powerful unions, which control just less than half the votes on parent company DaimlerChrysler AG (Nachrichten/Aktienkurs) 's supervisory board. In Germany, a supervisory board is the U.S. equivalent of a board of directors and would be key in approving any deal to split up the company, keep it whole, or spin off parts. Aurora, Ontario-based Magna has openly acknowledged its interest in Chrysler, and its chairman, Frank Stronach, wants a bigger role in the global automotive business.
Magna already assembles cars for DaimlerChrysler in Austria through its Magna Steyr subsidiary. Reports indicate Magna was in talks with the Onex Corp. conglomerate about teaming in a bid for Chrysler.'They've been the suitor du jour for the last couple of weeks now,' said George Magliano, an auto analyst at consulting company Global Insight.Hoselton said in his note that the United Auto Workers union has approached Magna with a framework for a concession package that would move the deal along.
Officials with the UAW, Magna and DaimlerChrysler would not comment on the reports. But Buzz Hargrove, president of the Canadian Auto Workers union, which represents about 11,000 Chrysler workers, said he knows that the UAW has not offered any concessions.'That's absolutely not true,' he said.
UAW President Ron Gettelfinger has said he prefers to keep Chrysler with Daimler, and he has strongly opposed any sale to private equity firms, which he said would sell off Chrysler in pieces and cost union members their jobs. Hargrove has said he would prefer Magna to the private equity firms that have studied Chrysler's finances.'We'd prefer someone in the industry that has a record of job creation and building, and Magna's the only name mentioned so far that has that kind of record,' he said.
General Motors Corp., which also is interested in Chrysler, would have to cut jobs as well because of duplication, Hargrove said. David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, said he would not be surprised if the union approached Magna with concessions.
'The UAW is scared to death of private equity,' he said. 'The reason is obvious. Private equity does pretty rough-and-tough things. They run their businesses for financial purposes and not necessarily for the benevolence of the labor force.' Magna has more than 82,000 employees in 22 countries around the globe, according to its Web site. AP Business Writer Matt Moore in Frankfurt, Germany, contributed to this report. http://www.finanznachrichten.de/...ichten-2007-04/artikel-8147426.asp |