Chrysler backs away from Renault-Nissan, chooses certain death instead

Cerberus Capital Management LP, the company that owns the majority share of Chrysler, has stopped talks with the Renault-Nissan Alliance and is focusing on negotiations with General Motors. As reported last month, a merger with GM will cause many redundant cars. This could mean the closure of seven Chrysler’s fourteen manufacturing plants, and the loss of possibly 200,000 jobs.

Renault-Nissan doesn’t have to take this as the end of negotiations if it really doesn’t want to. Originally it was rumored that Renault-Nissan wanted to buy twenty percent of Chrysler, and Cerberus owns 80.1 percent of Chrysler. If Renault-Nissan’s CEO Carlos Gohsn really wants a piece of the American company, he could likely approach Daimler (Mercedes) about the remaining 19.9 percent it is currently holding.