Is DaimlerChrysler close to selling Chrysler?
 

ark your calendars: April 4 is the date of the DaimlerChrysler shareholders' meeting in Stuttgart, Germany. One item on the agenda is to change the name back to Daimler-Benz AG.

Interested buyers are Cerberus Capital Management, Blackstone Group, Centerbridge Partners and Magna International.

Daimler paid $35 billion for Chrysler in 1998. Nine years later, it's worth an estimated $3- to $5-billion. Reports say Cerberus, Blackstone and Centerbridge bids each are close to the $5 billion mark, while Magna will come closer to $4 billion. That backs up what Magna founder and chairman Frank Stronach told The Globe & Mail (Toronto), last Friday; that he's interested in Chrysler for Magna's own protection. If a qualified buyer outbids him, he doesn't have to buy the automaker.

Strongest of the three capital groups is Cerberus, which has signed Wolfgang Bernhard to an "advisory contract," the Financial Times reported on Wednesday. Cerberus last year bought 51 percent of GMAC, the credit arm of General Motors. It is leading four other financial companies in a bid to invest $3.4-billion in parts supplier Delphi.

Blackstone also has automotive experience. It owns 55 percent of supplier TRW Automotive.