If a private equity firm is serious about bidding for Chrysler, it might as well get an expert to look over its shoulder, especially if that expert could run the company after the takeover.
Cerberus Capital Management, one of the private equity firms considering buying the US car unit from DaimlerChrysler (NYSE:DCX) has retained Wolfgang Bernhard [subscription] who previously worked at both Chrysler and VW.
Cerberus is already up to its eyeballs in the car industry. It bought a portion of GMAC from GM (NYSE:GM) last year and is trying to get a piece of the action at Delphi, the bankrupt car parts company that is working its way out of Chapter 11.
Hiring a senior car executive still begs the question of how a private equity firm can get more profit out of Chrysler. Wall Street assumes that Daimler did what it could to cut costs at it US arm. Another car company may be able to consolidate some functions if it bought Chrysler. But private equity firms seem to bring nothing to the table other than money.
There is another answer to the riddle of why private equity firms are all over Chrysler's books. They may assume that a purchase of the car company could immediately lead to breaking it into pieces. Jeep could probably be sold to another car company as could Chrysler's pick-up truck operations. That would leave the car brands, and they might not survive, at least at their current size.
Perhaps there is some "creative destruction" in Chrysler's future.
Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.
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