DaimlerChrysler announced the end of their trans-Atlantic alliance on Friday with the completion of the sale of a majority stake in Chrysler to Cerberus Capital Management, according to dpa. DaimlerChrysler said it had completed the closing for the transfer of a majority interest in its US subsidiary Chrysler Group to the New York-based private equity company. Cerberus will take over 80.1 per cent of the Chrysler Holding LLC for 7.4 billion dollars, while DaimlerChrysler retains a 19.9 per cent interest, the company said in an announcement. "Today marks a new chapter in the history of our company," said Dieter Zetsche, chairman of the board of management of DaimlerChrysler AG and head of the Mercedes Car Group. An extraordinary shareholders' meeting of DaimlerChrysler will decide on the change of name on October 4 when the company will be known as Daimler AG. Zetsche said details on the effects on the financial statements of DaimlerChrysler will be explained on August 29. DaimlerChrysler agreed in May to sell its loss-making US division to Cerebrus, but doubts had surfaced recently whether the private equity company could raise the necessary capital in view of the crisis on the US subprime lending market. As part of the deal, Cerebrus agreed to take over the pension and health care obligations of Chrysler employees. Since the 36-billion dollar Daimler and Chrysler merger in 1998, the company's share price has slumped and the group's market value almost halved. After initially battling to make headway in America's fiercely competitive car sector, Chrysler earnings were more recently hit by a shift in the US auto market towards smaller, more energy efficient cars following last year's jump in petrol prices. In February, DaimlerChrysler, which is the manufacturer of the luxury Mercedes Benz cars, undertook a new effort to revamp Chrysler, including slashing 13,000 jobs.
