Cerberus owns Chrysler. OK, perhaps “controls” is a better word. Cerberus bought Chrysler from Daimler by convincing a group of investors that the ailing American automaker was, one way or another, a money spinner. Well, it sure didn’t turn out that way. The U.S. taxpayer is now keeping ChryCo in business. Or not. On Monday, nine days before its next visit to the federal bailout buffet, Chrysler will close its Conner Ave. plant (MI) and “idle” Sterling Heights, MI; Brampton, ON; and Belvidere, IL. “The shutdowns will last for at least a week,” wxyz.com reports. “With the company evaluating whether or not to reopen them on a weekly basis.” Flip a coin? Meanwhile, we, the people footing the bill, don’t know whose investment we’re protecting with our tax dollars. Foreign nationals? Bailout banks? Former government officials? Current government officials? Other, more profitable automakers? I’ve made dozens of phone calls. Nothing. Not a word. So I’ve called Senator Corker’s office for help. Nothing. Not a word. [E-mail here.] Meanwhile, Cerberus may yet be forced into the open, thanks to a new exec pay limitation clause on the next round of bailout bucks (not retroactive for some reason). So, how much does CEO Bob Nardelli make?
Nobody knows. We know that he’s not paid a salary per se. When Corker asked Nardelli to take a $1 a year pay pledge, he readily agreed. And then let slip that he doesn’t get a salary. So what DOES he get?
We continue to hear from our sources that Nardelli put as much as $50m of his own money into Chrysler when Daimler off-loaded the hollow shell on the smartest guys in the room. Perhaps Nardelli’s compensation is tied to his stake in the company. Daimler now values their 19 percent stake in Chrysler at . . . zero. Perhaps Mr. Nardelli is in petard-hoisting hell.
I doubt it. The Washington Post provides no answers, but plenty of questions.
Chrysler’s spokesman Stuart Schorr said the company’s executives are willing to abide by the administration’s new pay limits in order to get government help.
“We will continue to work with the Treasury Department to determine what new steps, if any, will be required to continue to comply with executive compensation requirements of our Treasury Department loan agreement terms,” he said.
The bottom line:
Chrysler officials declined to comment yesterday on how much Nardelli is making beyond his salary.
[If any of TTAC’s Best and Brightest can help us uncover the investors behind Chrysler, please contact me ASAP (robertfarago1@gmail.com).]
@ RF
From astronomy, if you know you’re looking into a Black Hole, you still can’t “see it”, only the Event Horizon.
In other words, if you unmask Chrysler/Cerberus we shouldn’t be surprised if there is nothing there…
I have no inside information but would guess that Cerebus is managing an investment fund which owns the Cerebus share of Chrysler. The fund may or may not have other investments.
The owners of the fund probably include Cerebus itself as GP with 1% plus Cerebus personnell at whatever % they were allowed to put into either the GP entity or in the fund as LP interests, plus members of the institutional investing public.
This latter group consists of those who have large amounts to invest and have in-house professional money managers.
For example, and think both domestic and foreign, the list would include entities such as (similar to)
CalPers,
the GM or Ford or Chrysler pension fund,
any large pension fund,
hedge funds,
mutual funds
Insurance companies
high net worth individuals
family trusts
soveerign funds (Red China or Kuwait).
Brampton, ON, not OT. :)
From west to east: BC, AB, SK, MB, ON, QC, NB, PE, NS, NL. It’s YT, NT and NU for the territories in the far north.
Will Chrysler make it even a year? I’m starting to have serious doubts.
Photojim:
Text amended.
Yes, Ontario is “ON.” If they haven’t used that for one of their “paid advertisements” in Forbes yet, then they probably should consider it.
Belvidere, Brampton, and Sterling Heights are their main facilities, right? Everything else is Jeep or closing. They still have a plant in the St Louis area building, what, the Dodge Ram? Oh, and the Mexico facility (facilities?) too.
Did I miss the status on Windsor? Sorry, all this talk from the execs means little. Show me what is happening on the ground.
It all smells stronger than a box of rotten fish to me !
Seriously though , do you think anyone would really miss
Chrysler if it went under ?
“Seriously though , do you think anyone would really miss
Chrysler if it went under ?”
I’d miss Jeep (or what remains of the “old Jeep”) but I assume they would be bought out by someone else.
The only other two valuable assets they have are the minivans–which are solid vehicles but in a shrinking segment–and the Dodge Ram. I honestly can’t think of anything else of value they have left. Can anyone think of solid cars from ChryCo besides the ones I just named?
Much Does CEO Nardelli Make?
Too much whatever it is.
What does Nardelli make?
Tonnes of B.S., and plenty of cuts.
My guess is that Nardelli is making nothing upfront and an extreme amount on the back-end with restricted stock if Chrysler can be unloaded profitably. He might very well be one of those investors who put money into the deal.
I agree that there is possibly one prominent pension fund for public sector employees in the mix that doesn’t want exposure. Quite possibly some Arab sovereign investment funds, who also don’t want their names in print.
“Seriously though , do you think anyone would really miss Chrysler if it went under ?”
The thousands of employees, suppliers, dealers and retirees….no to mention the thousands of people living in Metro Detroit.
Yeah, no one is going to miss it at all
“Seriously though , do you think anyone would really miss Chrysler if it went under ?”
I’m sure there are literally dozens of Sebring owners who will shed a tear…
From start to finish Cerberus’ control of Chrysler is a disaster and if Chrysler can survive it intact that will be a miracle. It really doesn’t matter who the investors are, what matters is Cerberus themselves who are not only unwilling to invest any money and ready to give it away to anybody that will take it but on top of that are completely clueless about operating a high volume domestic auto manufacturer. Couple that with our economy and the severely reduced demand and it looks more and more dismal for survival. For the sake of everyone mentioned in the above post I hope Fiat getting involved will be Chrysler’s salvation. Chrysler’s chances for survival would improve dramatically if Cerberus and Nardelli were out of the picture.
BDB: Can anyone think of solid cars from ChryCo besides the ones I just named?
How about the Charger/300 (not the rental spec one reviewed here)? Still solid, although getting a little long in the tooth.
“How about the Charger/300 (not the rental spec one reviewed here)?”
Hmm, yeah the V8 300 is solid but like you said its getting a little old now.
I still prefer the old 300m though.
If you expect Corker to answer your question, you’ll need a TV camera and mike he can talk into
Robert,
While the answer to your queries would no doubt prove interesting, I suspect your motivation is to keep digging until you find an ownership interest you find disagreeable, then use that information as an excuse to flame the government loans to Chrysler.
Cerberus is, if you will, the ultimate expression of private ownership.
To the best of my knowledge, no laws have been broken by them or their equity holders.
I suspect your motivation is to keep digging until you find an ownership interest you find disagreeable, then use that information as an excuse to flame the government loans to Chrysler.
This
You dealership…HATERS… kill me. You don’t have your ..YOUR..YOUR..personal money invested in a dealership. That said, new car dealers are puppets of the manufactor at present. They set the tune and we all dance. So, all the hate about pricing, warranty claims, ETC..should start at the source. Hate them, first.IF THEY PAID US..instead of looking for ways to deny incentives and warranty claims…there would be less issue. The manufactor’s no longer support the dealer network ..they loathe it. Shame..cause that’s actually part of the solution. We are the face the public understands.Second, about hating salespeople. YOU…YOU…work on the floor for a few years…and then address the issue. Till you’ve done it…you don’t know.The rest is speculation or observation on your part. If the pay scale for new cars was appropriate..you’d see better quality staff. Remember, if you want Walmart price…you get Walmart staff. So…Armchair quaterbacks…bitch all want…but RUN a dealership for a few..then get back to me.
“We are the face the public understands.Second, about hating salespeople. YOU…YOU…work on the floor for a few years…and then address the issue.”
On that note, this Edmunds article was really interesting!
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/buying/articles/42962/article.html
We all know Chrysler is not worth saving. Those working there should have known for at least the last 18 months that their jobs are living on borrowed time.
As for the dealers, sorry guys, I don’t have much sympathy for you. Years, decades even, of shoddy customer service and slight of hand sales have made most of us skeptical of you. Sorry, you dug your own grave.