GM may acquire Chrysler, says report

17 February 2007

Mumbai: General Motors Corporation, the world's largest automaker, is considering the option of acquiring the money-losing Chrysler unit of DaimlerChrysler AG, sources close to the developments said.

GM is also considering joint development of some its models, including large sport-utility vehicles, with Chrysler, sources said.

"General Motors is in talks to buy all of its struggling rival Chrysler group from German-US auto giant DaimlerChrysler AG," the weekly trade publication Automotive News quoted sources in Germany and the US as saying.

Chrysler is planning to cut around 13,000 jobs and closing most of its US plants. While Chrysler said it would close its Delaware plant after a $1.5 billion loss last year, Detroit-based GM also is planning to close some of its North American plants after a fall in sales.

While Chrysler was valued at $36 billion when Daimler-Benz AG acquired it in 1998, GM may now be able to buy it for just around $5 billion, reports quoting some analysts said.