Monday, June 2, 2008

Cerberus cuts stake in Chrysler and GMAC by more than half - FT

LONDON (Thomson Financial) - Cerberus Capital Management has sold 'significantly' more than half of its stake in Chrysler and GMAC to about 90 investors, the U.K.'s Financial Times said Monday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The paper said investors paid as much as $1 billion for stakes in the U.S. car maker and the former financial services arm of General Motors Corp.

Avenue Capital, Cyrus Capital Partners, DB Zwirn and Franklin Templeton Investments were some of the investment groups that took up the offer to buy a stake in the companies, according to the FT.

Cerberus acquired a 51% stake in GMAC for $7.4 billion as part of a consortium, which also included Citigroup.

It bought an 80.1% stake in Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler in August last year.

The paper said Cerberus' decision to reduce its stake stems from a wish to lower its risk especially given that both deals have proved disappointing for the buyout firm.

The FT said GMAC's mortgage financing unit, ResCap, has been hard hit by the credit squeeze while Chrysler has been affected by soaring oil prices and more cautious consumer spending.

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