Obama: Chrysler will file bankruptcy today
From the Detroit Free Press:
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama said today that Chrysler LLC will file a historic bankruptcy shortly, backed by up to $3.5 billion in new government aid designed to allow a Chrysler-Fiat partnership to emerge from court in 30 to 60 days.The move also sends a strong signal to bondholders at General Motors Corp. that the Obama auto task force will act on its vow to take GM into a similar bankruptcy if they do not agree to swap their GM debt for shares in a reworked GM.
Under Chrysler's bankruptcy, to be filed in New York in a matter of hours, the two automakers along with the UAW, Fiat and a majority of lenders will ask a judge to force a swap of $6.9 billion in debt for $2 billion in cash. The number of Chrysler dealers, now about 3,200, will be reduced through bankruptcy, but the administration officials did not say how many would be eliminated.
Thirty to 60 days in and out of Chapter 11? What are the chances?
