Tuesday, June 9, 2009

Indiana Pensioners Using Goverment's Argument Against It

As Zero Hedge expected in today's Frontrunning, it was only a matter of time before White & Case picked up on Fiat spokesperson Gualberto Ranieri's words, after he said "Fiat won't walk away from Chrysler." As has been repeatedly noted, the key argument presented by Chrysler and the USA, is that Fiat would bail if it had a chance. Of course, with Opel out of the consolidated picture, in my opinion, Fiat's walking away is still a distinct possibility, however now that the nitpicking over words has really picked up steam, a word out of place could be the difference between victory and loss.

And indeed, a few minutes ago, the Indiana Pensioners filed a Supplemental Statement in Support Of Stay Application (below), in which they state:
In responding to the news of this Court’s temporary stay, Sergio Marchionne, the CEO of Fiat, was quoted as follows:

“‘We would never walk away,’ Marchionne said in response to a question about whether Fiat would pull out of the deal if it isn’t completed by the June 15 deadline. ‘Never.’” Rather, Marchionne said that “We should just be patient and let the system work.”

Whether or not the arguments and testimony were ever true, the Indiana Pensioners respectfully submit that the risk of termination by Fiat if the transaction does not close by June 15 no longer provides a basis for driving the timing of these proceedings.
It is ironic, that Fiat itself could have dealt a big blow to its own case, if indeed it was truly interested in acquiring Chrysler. The SCOTUS will now have to start dealing with this angle, which for all practical purposes, weakens the debtor's case for an accelerated emergence dramatically.

Sphere: Related Content
Print this post
blog comments powered by Disqus