Published: January 14, 2009 11:09 pm      

Magna's hire fuels talk of Chrysler sale

DETROIT -- Magna International Inc., a Canadian auto supplier that previously expressed an interest in buying Chrysler, has hired Wolfgang Bernhard -- the former chief operating officer of Chrysler and a veteran automotive executive -- as a consultant, the Free Press confirmed Tuesday.

The move is sure to fuel speculation that Magna remains interested in acquiring the struggling automaker based in Auburn Hills.

Bernhard also worked with Cerberus Capital Management in its bid to acquire majority control of Chrysler from then DaimlerChrysler AG in 2007.

The news of Bernhard's hiring came on the same day that Reuters news service, citing anonymous sources, reported that Chrysler is in talks with both Magna and Nissan-Renault to sell "key assets" to both companies.

Late Tuesday, Chrysler, its majority owner, Cerberus, and Magna declined to comment on the report.

During this week's auto show, Chrysler Chief Executive Officer Bob Nardelli said that the company is not looking for a merger partner or to be acquired.

However, Aaron Bragman, auto consultant with IHS Global Insight, said the report is not surprising.

Magna is a key supplier to Chrysler, and Chrysler and Nissan already are partnered on vehicle manufacturing agreements that have the U.S. automaker planning to make pickups for Nissan and the Japanese company preparing to build small cars for Chrysler.

"They both have serious vested interests in the continuation of Chrysler," Bragman said.

Renault and Nissan also have surfaced frequently as possible suitors for Chrysler in the past.

Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of both Renault and Nissan, has said that acquisitions often don't work and alliances work better.

Future of automakers

Late last year, as sales in the U.S. auto industry collapsed, Chrysler, Detroit's third-largest automaker, sought $7 billion in federal loans.

Chrysler received just $4 billion of that and is trying to get the remaining $3 billion.

With sales dropping 53% last month, analysts have speculated that the automaker won't be able to survive further deterioration in the market in 2009 as a stand-alone company.

Chrysler's future also has been unclear for months after it became publicly known last fall that the automaker's majority owner, Cerberus, was in talks about merging its asset with General Motors Corp.

Those talks, however, were suspended in November as the credit market fell into chaos and GM, which has since received $13.4 billion in loans from the federal government, said it needed to focus all of its attention of lining up cash to keep its own business afloat.

During those talks with GM, Cerberus also was believed to be talking with other interested parties, including Renault-Nissan.

That Bernhard and Magna might be back in the picture for Chrysler is not hard to believe.

Bernhard's presence on the Cerberus team in 2007 was believed at the time to help give the private equity firm a leg up in its bid. Back then, it was widely expected that he would be named chairman of Chrysler after Cerberus took control. Nardelli instead became CEO and chairman.

Before the auto industry hit its most recent troubles, Magna was interested in building a vehicle assembly facility in North America to expand its unique complete-vehicle production business, which it already does in Europe.

Magna's executives have said in the past that it sees the potential for a market for assembling vehicles in North America for European automakers. Magna's Austria plant has a history of building Chrysler vehicles, including the European edition of the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Renault-Nissan speculation

The idea of Chrysler joining the Renault-Nissan alliance first sparked speculation almost a year ago when Chrysler and Nissan began announcing manufacturing agreements between the two automakers. Officials from both companies have insisted that their relationship is purely a manufacturing agreement, but several analysts have suggested it could lead to more.

"The only thing that Nissan and Chrysler are talking about is the three product-sharing deals announced last year," Fred Standish, spokesman for Nissan, said late Tuesday. "We are open to further product-sharing projects."

Standish made it clear that he was speaking on behalf of Nissan, not Renault. A Renault spokeswoman could not be reached for comment late Tuesday.

Paris-based Renault SA owns 44% of Nissan Motor Co., and Nissan owns 15% of Renault.

According to the Reuters report, citing an unidentified person familiar with the talks, Ghosn has been looking to clarify whether a deal to acquire assets from Chrysler would jeopardize the company's access to U.S. government funding.