克莱斯勒提交破产的保护申请
Chrysler Makes Bankruptcy Filing2009年5月2日
Chrysler LLC on Thursday filed for bankruptcy reorganization at the behest of the U.S. government after failing to reach an agreement with a small group of creditors.
'This process will be quick, it will be efficient,' U.S. President Barack Obama said in a televised address.
The Obama administration, which led the Chrysler reorganization talks because it has provided loans to keep the car maker operating, expects a relatively speedy bankruptcy proceeding that could be wrapped up in as little as 30 to 60 days.
The government, which already has provided more than $4 billion to Chrysler, said Thursday it would commit to a further $8 billion to help the company through bankruptcy.
At the same time, Mr. Obama announced that Italian car maker Fiat SpA had agreed to enter into an alliance with Chrysler. Under it, Fiat will provide the U.S. company with technology for small, fuel-efficient models.
For Chrysler, the bankruptcy filing and Fiat pact represent a chance to end years of losses and declining market share. The car maker suffered from high labor and production costs and union agreements that required it to provide extensive health care and other benefits to 115,000 retirees.
Chrysler's plight intensified last year when high gasoline prices dissuaded customers from buying its sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks, the company's main source of profits. Meantime, the company had de-emphasized small cars in recent years and it had a sparse selection at a time when consumers were seeking them.
A New York bankruptcy court is expected to handle the restructuring, which could be easier to push through because, unlike the out-of-court talks, it doesn't need approval of all creditors. A simple majority will suffice, and large creditors, including U.S. banks J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Citigroup Inc., are already believed to support the plan.
In his noon address, President Obama took a tough stance against what he described as the small group of 'speculators,' the debt holders that had held up the Chrysler restructuring. The bankruptcy proceedings are 'designed to deal with those last few holdouts,' Obama said.
The holdouts, including hedge funds and pension funds, may choose to fight the court proceedings, which could derail the government's timetable. In a statement released Wednesday before the president's address, they questioned the administration's willingness to negotiate, saying their own offer was 'flatly rejected or ignored.'
If the court plan is approved, Chrysler's car-making operations will be sold to a new company, which would emerge from bankruptcy under entirely new ownership and without the onerous obligations to creditors and employees.
Chrysler's existing owners, private-equity fund Cerberus Capital Management LP and Germany's Daimler AG, would lose all their holdings, and a health-care trust fund for retirees will emerge as the new majority owner, with a 55% stake.
Under its partnership, Fiat initially will receive a 20% stake in Chrysler but it could rise to 35% if certain targets are met. Fiat has the option of becoming a majority shareholder once the U.S. loans have been repaid.
The U.S. Treasury Department, meanwhile, will own 8% of Chrysler, and the governments of Canada and Ontario, which will provide $2.4 billion in financing, will hold a combined 2% stake.
The car maker's 54,000 employees and its 115,000 retirees, represented by the United Auto Workers union, late Wednesday approved their part of the bargain, eliminating a number of benefits.
Shortly after the president's speech, Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli said he would resign, returning to work for Cerberus, which had appointed him to run the company in August 2007.
Chrysler said it will temporarily idle most of its manufacturing plants for as long as 60 days starting Monday as the company seeks to reorganize.
As part of the agreement, Chrysler's lending arm, Chrysler Financial, will be folded into GMAC LLC, which will become the main financing source for all Chrysler vehicles. A group of investors led by Cerberus holds a majority stake in GMAC.
The U.S. government will have the power to appoint board members at the reorganized Chrysler but won't get involved in day-to-day operations, an administration official said.
The groundwork for the revamping includes a cost-cutting deal ratified by the United Auto Workers union late Wednesday. Another Treasury-brokered agreement calls for Chrysler's lenders to accept $2.25 billion in cash in exchange for wiping out about $6.9 billion of Chrysler's debt. Though some creditors balked at that offer the administration official said Thursday that he expects those agreements to be kept largely intact by a bankruptcy judge.
The new government loans include between $3 billion to $3.5 billion in so-called debtor-in-possession financing and an additional $4.5 billion once the company emerges from court, administration officials said Thursday.
克莱斯勒提交破产保护申请 由于未能与部分债权人达成协议，克莱斯勒周四在美国政府的要求下提交了破产重组申请。
美国总统奥巴马在电视讲话中说，这个过程将会很快，将会非常高效。
由于向克莱斯勒提供了运营资金，奥巴马政府一直在负责该公司的重组谈判。政府预计，破产重组进程会相对快速，最短可能会在30至60天内完成。
美国政府周四承诺，将再提供80亿美元帮助克莱斯勒走出破产状态。政府已经向该公司提供了40多亿美元资金。
与此同时，奥巴马宣布意大利汽车制造商菲亚特已同意与克莱斯勒结盟。按照结盟计划，菲亚特将向克莱斯勒提供小型节油车型的技术。
Associated Press
克莱斯勒的员工们在收看奥巴马宣布克莱斯勒申请破产的电视
对克莱斯勒而言，申请破产保护和与菲亚特达成的协议给它带来了结束多年持续亏损和市场份额下降的机会。这家汽车制造商一直面临劳动力和生产成本居高不下的局面，根据与工会的协议，它还要向11.5万名退休人员提供高额的医疗和其它福利。
克莱斯勒去年陷入了更加困难的境地，汽油价格的飙升让消费者纷纷放弃购买运动型多用途车和皮卡，而这些车型一直是该公司主要的利润来源。与此同时，克莱斯勒多年来对小型车重视不够，因此当消费者开始青睐这类车型时，该公司几乎没有什么选择余地。
预计纽约的一家破产法院将处理重组事宜，完成这个过程相对容易，因为与庭外谈判不同，达成破产重组协议不需要所有债权人的同意，只需简单多数即可。而包括摩根大通和花旗集团等大银行在内的主要债权人据信都会支持这个计划。
奥巴马总统在中午的讲话中严厉批评了阻碍克莱斯勒重组进程的债券持有人，他称这些人为少数“投机分子”。奥巴马说，破产程序就是设计用来对付这些最后的顽固分子的。
不愿做出让步的债权人包括对冲基金和退休基金，他们可能选择对法院程序提出挑战，从而拖延政府的时间表。在奥巴马发表讲话前，他们于周三发布声明对政府的谈判诚意提出质疑，称自己的建议遭到了“直接的拒绝和漠视”。
如果由法庭主持达成的破产重组计划获得批准，克莱斯勒的汽车制造业务将被出售给一家新公司，当这家拥有全新东家的公司脱离破产保护状态时，它身上不会背有对债权人和员工的繁重义务。
克莱斯勒现在的所有者──私人资本运营基金Cerberus Capital Management LP和德国的戴姆勒公司将失去它们全部股权，一只退休人员医疗信托基金将成为克莱斯勒新的大股东，持有该公司55%的股权。
根据合伙协议，菲亚特最初将获得克莱斯勒20%的股份，不过如果能实现某些目标的话，它在克莱斯勒的持股比例可提高到35%。一旦克莱斯勒还清了美国政府的贷款，菲亚特有权选择持有该公司50%以上的股份。
与此同时，美国财政部将持有克莱斯勒8%的股份，而加拿大和安大略省政府将提供24亿美元的融资，共计持有2%的股份。
由全美汽车工人联合会代表的克莱斯勒5.4万名员工和11.5万名退休人员周三晚间同意了削减己方众多福利的协定。
奥巴马演讲后不久，克莱斯勒首席执行长纳德利即表示他将辞职，重新回到Cerberus工作。2007年8月Cerberus任命他掌管克莱斯勒。
克莱斯勒表示，在公司努力重组之际，将从下周一开始暂停大部分制造厂的运转，最长可达60天。
作为协议的一部分，克莱斯勒旗下车贷公司Chrysler Financial将被并入通用汽车金融服务公司，以后购买克莱斯勒汽车的人将主要向这家公司寻求贷款。由Cerberus牵头的一批投资者目前持有通用汽车金融服务公司的多数股权。
一位政府官员说，美国政府将有权任命重组后克莱斯勒的董事会成员，不过不会参与该公司的日常运营。
重组计划的基础包括全美汽车工人联合会周三晚间批准的成本削减协议。另一项由财政部斡旋的协议呼吁克莱斯勒的债权人接受22.5亿美元现金，交换条件是他们需勾销克莱斯勒约69亿美元的债务。尽管一些债权人拒绝接受这个提议，但上述政府官员周四表示，他预计破产法官将基本保持这些协议内容不动。
政府官员周四说，新的政府贷款包括30亿至35亿美元的“债务人持有破产资产”融资，如果公司撑过破产程序，还能再从政府获得45亿美元贷款。
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