NEW YORK — The judge overseeing Chrysler’s Chapter 11 proceedings says the automaker can start taking steps toward selling the vast majority of its assets to Italy’s Fiat.
Judge Arthur Gonzales says the procedures proposed by Chrysler’s lawyers represent a "clear and orderly process.”
Attorneys for Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler LLC argued that the automaker had essentially been up for sale for most of the last two years and a speedy sale was needed in order to preserve the value of the company’s assets.
But those representing a dissident group of Chrysler lenders said more time was needed for other potential buyers to do the research they needed to make an appropriate offer
The group said the proposed sale process is designed to prevent competitive bidding.
Meanwhile, Gonzales ruled that the identities of the group’s members do not need to be sealed, despite the group’s lead attorney saying that death threats were made against some of them.
On Monday, the same group of lenders objected to a Chrysler motion to allow the company to access $4.5 billion in bankruptcy financing, saying that it was too closely tied to the proposed sale.
Tom Lauria, an attorney for the lenders group, argued that the identities of the group’s members should be sealed by the court because some had received threats after having been singled out Thursday by President Barack Obama as the cause of Chrysler’s bankruptcy.
But Robert Hamilton, an attorney for Chrysler, said those threats only amounted to four or five "rants” on a newspaper Web site.
"Anyone who has an understanding of the kind of rants on these kinds of message boards would never take them seriously,” Hamilton said.
The group refused a deal that would amount to 29 cents on the dollar to dissolve what they’re owed and go with the government’s restructuring plan.
by the associated press
Judge Arthur Gonzales says the procedures proposed by Chrysler’s lawyers represent a "clear and orderly process.”
Attorneys for Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler LLC argued that the automaker had essentially been up for sale for most of the last two years and a speedy sale was needed in order to preserve the value of the company’s assets.
But those representing a dissident group of Chrysler lenders said more time was needed for other potential buyers to do the research they needed to make an appropriate offer
The group said the proposed sale process is designed to prevent competitive bidding.
Meanwhile, Gonzales ruled that the identities of the group’s members do not need to be sealed, despite the group’s lead attorney saying that death threats were made against some of them.
On Monday, the same group of lenders objected to a Chrysler motion to allow the company to access $4.5 billion in bankruptcy financing, saying that it was too closely tied to the proposed sale.
Tom Lauria, an attorney for the lenders group, argued that the identities of the group’s members should be sealed by the court because some had received threats after having been singled out Thursday by President Barack Obama as the cause of Chrysler’s bankruptcy.
But Robert Hamilton, an attorney for Chrysler, said those threats only amounted to four or five "rants” on a newspaper Web site.
"Anyone who has an understanding of the kind of rants on these kinds of message boards would never take them seriously,” Hamilton said.
The group refused a deal that would amount to 29 cents on the dollar to dissolve what they’re owed and go with the government’s restructuring plan.
by the associated press
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