北京回龙观北郊汽配城老郭汽车音响专修: 十月 2008

Bankruptcy Fears Rise As Chrysler, GM Seek Aid

2008年10月27日13:17

通用汽车(General Motors Corp.)和长期竞争对手克莱斯勒(Chrysler LLC)这个周末继续进行合并谈判，两家公司都面临着一个残酷的现实：如果不进行合并，得不到联邦政府可能的援助，那么两家公司的现金储备可能会在一年之内消耗殆尽。

As talks between General Motors Corp. and long-time rival Chrysler LLC continued over the weekend, a harsh reality has emerged: Without a merger and possibly an assist from the federal government, two of the Detroit's Big Three auto makers could run out of cash within a year.

通用汽车和克莱斯勒已经被信贷市场拒之门外，现金储备均在急剧消耗。如果任何一家公司被迫寻求破产保护的话，可能会引发美国整个汽车行业的连锁反应，连累亚洲和欧洲状况较好的汽车制造商的部件供应，给数千家本地汽车经销商带来重创。联邦政府也会面临麻烦，其退休金担保计划将面临增加数十万退休人员的沉重压力。

GM and Chrysler are locked out of the credit markets and are burning cash quickly. If either were forced to seek bankruptcy protection, it would set off a chain-reaction across the U.S. auto industry, choking off parts supplies to healthier Asian and European car makers and slamming thousands of local car dealers. It could also create a mess for the federal government, whose pension-guarantee program would be swamped by the addition of hundreds of thousands of retirees.

最近几周两家汽车制造商和密歇根州政治代表团已经向政府多次恳请，提出了至少三个计划为通用汽车和克莱斯勒合并解冻现金；包括从政府寻求股份投资，或是从政府的不良资产复苏项目(TARP)寻求资金援助。

The auto makers and Michigan political delegations have gone hat in hand to the government in recent weeks, proposing at least three plans to unlock cash for a merged GM-Chrysler, including seeking an equity investment from the government or unlocking funds from the government's Troubled Asset Recovery Program, or TARP.

据两位知情人士透露，通用汽车和克莱斯勒预计合并后的实体可能需要100亿美元新股本；这笔资金将用来裁减员工，关闭工厂，整合两家公司并提供流动性。

GM and Chrysler estimate that a combined entity would need $10 billion in new equity to lay off workers, close plants, integrate the two companies and provide liquidity, according to people involved in the talks or briefed on them.

德意志银行(Deutsche Bank)汽车业分析师拉切(Rod Lache)上周写道，如果没有合并或政府援助等外部干预，我们预计通用汽车的现金水平会在12个月内降到底限。他在专访中补充表示，克莱斯勒的资金水平也处在危险低位；他说，我们认为克莱斯勒也面临着同样处境，明年8月或是12月他们就会弹尽粮绝。两家公司的选择余地都很有限。

'Without external intervention, from consolidation or government assistance, we expect GM to reach its minimum cash position in under 12 months,' Deutsche Bank auto analyst Rod Lache wrote last week. In an interview, Mr. Lache adds that Chrysler is also running dangerously low on funds. 'We believe Chrysler is in the same position. It's either August 2009 or December 2009 they run out. Both have a limited runway.'

通用汽车和克莱斯勒本月先后公开表明绝不会申请破产。由于遭到投资者和分析师的质疑，股价不断下跌，信用评级又遭下调，两家汽车制造商不得不出面表态。

GM and Chrysler said publicly this month that bankruptcy proceedings are out of the question. Such statements came in response to investor and analyst questions, falling share prices and lowered credit ratings.

通用汽车发言人哈里斯(Steve Harris)表示，我们还没到要考虑破产保护的境地。克莱斯勒发言人麦克塔维什(Lori McTavish)称，破产不在公司的考虑范围内，这对我们说不过去。

GM spokesman Steve Harris said, 'We continue to hold the position that bankruptcy is not an option.' Chrysler spokeswoman Lori McTavish said: 'Bankruptcy is not an option for Chrysler -- it doesn't make sense for us.'

几位参与通用汽车和克莱斯勒合并谈判的人士表示，两家公司已经和联邦政府官员商谈过可能的交易。但目前还不清楚政府可能或将要在这笔交易中扮演什么角色。现在也没有迹象显示，负责TARP项目的美国财政部正在考虑向金融机构以外的行业提供救助。

Several people involved in the GM-Chrysler merger discussions say the companies have talked to federal officials about their proposed transaction. But there are no specifics yet about what role the government could, or will, play. There is no indication that Treasury, which oversees the TARP program, is currently considering proposals for anything but financial institutions.

通用汽车和克莱斯勒合并后，其经销网络将拥有10,000名经销商，美国市场总销售总额将达到1,100亿-1,300亿美元，接近美国国内生产总值 (GDP)的1%。两家公司在美国拥有110多家组装、冲压和部件厂，预计雇用共14.5万名员工。此外，两家公司的命运还关系到60万退休人员的医疗和养老金。

GM and Chrysler, through a network of 10,000 dealers, have combined U.S. sales of between $110 billion and $130 billion, a figure that approaches 1% of the U.S. gross domestic product. They employ an estimated 145,000 people in the U.S. at more than 110 assembly, stamping and parts plants. An additional 600,000 retirees depend on the two car makers for health care and pensions.

一位知情人士表示，通用汽车和克莱斯勒基本是在等待政府救助。他们面临着三个选择：申请破产，等待政府大力干预，或是进行此类重大交易以显著削减成本。这位人士表示，就这些。即便是重大交易也可能需要政府援助。

GM and Chrysler 'are basically waiting on the government,' said one person involved in the merger talks. 'The three choices are bankruptcy, a big intervention from the government or some big deal like this that has massive cost-cutting possibilities,' this person said. 'That's it. And even the big deal may require government help.'

两家公司合并的传言开始于9月份，此前通用汽车和美国第三大汽车制造商福特汽车(Ford Motor Co.)曾短暂洽谈过。私人资本运营公司Cerberus Capital Management随后接洽了通用汽车，有意将所持克莱斯勒股份置换通用汽车持有旗下信贷部门通用汽车金融服务公司(GMAC) 49%的股份；Cerberus目前持有克莱斯勒81%的股份以及GMAC 49%的股份。Cerberus一位发言人不愿置评，将问题转给了克莱斯勒。

Talk of a GM-Chrysler merger began in September, following brief discussions between GM and Ford Motor Co., the third major U.S. auto maker. Cerberus Capital Management, a private-equity fund that owns 81% of Chrysler and 49% of GMAC -- GM's lending arm -- approached GM about swapping GM's 49% stake in GMAC for ownership of Chrysler. A Cerberus spokesman directed questions to Chrysler.

此类交易在几年前都会是不可想像的，因为合并只会给通用汽车膨胀的业务结构带来更多的品牌、经销商和慢销的车型。但随着信贷市场不断收紧，美国汽车销量急剧下滑，面临沉重现金压力的通用汽车只能苦苦设法自救。

Such a merger would have been unthinkable in recent years because it would have only added more brands, dealerships and slow-selling models to GM's bloated structure. But with credit markets tightening and collapsing U.S. auto sales draining GM's cash, the auto maker is scrambling to keep itself afloat.

今年前9个月，美国汽车和卡车销量下滑了13%。今年以来，通用汽车销量下降了大约18%，克莱斯勒减少了25%，福特汽车下降了17%。不过由于拥有较多的现金储备，福特汽车的处境并不像通用汽车和克莱斯勒那么艰难。

U.S. car and truck sales are down 13% through September this year. GM sales have fallen about 18% so far this year, while Chrysler's are down 25%. Ford's sales are down 17%. Ford's condition is not as grave as that of GM and Chrysler because it has more cash on hand.

根据多项预测，美国未来12个月的汽车销量可能下滑到上世纪80年代初的前一次衰退时的水平，而当时的美国人口比现在要少7,000万。美国汽车销量在 2000年时达到1,740辆的顶峰，在另外五年时间里也保持接近1,700万辆的水平。根据消费研究机构J.D. Power & Associates的数据，今年的销量估计将达到1,360万辆，预计2009年还将再减少50万辆。

In the next 12 months, U.S. auto sales could sink to levels last seen during the recession of the early 1980s, according to several forecasts, when there were 70 million fewer Americans. Sales peaked at 17.4 million in 2000 and remained near 17 million for another five years. This year, 13.6 million vehicles are expected to be sold, and sales are expected to fall by another half-million vehicles in 2009, according to consumer-researcher J.D. Power & Associates.

如今，三大汽车巨头的轿车和卡车产能比目前的销量高出了300万辆，相当于10个工厂的产能闲置。克莱斯勒首席执行长罗伯特?纳德利(Robert Nardelli)上周五宣布将裁减5,000个白领职位时对员工说，这对我们的行业来说实在是不可想象的年代。

Today, the Big Three automakers have the capacity to build three million more cars and trucks than they are currently selling -- about 10 plants' worth of idle capacity. 'These are truly unimaginable times for our industry,' Chrysler Chief Executive Robert Nardelli told employees Friday in announcing 5,000 new white-collar job cuts.

按照各种财务指标判断，投资者和汽车经销商感觉三巨头中或许有一家会宣布申请破产。通用汽车和福特汽车的债券交易价格相当于面值的20%-40%。投资者对克莱斯勒价值90亿美元债券的估值约为34亿美元。上周四，持有克莱斯勒19.9%股权的戴姆勒(Daimler)将在这家汽车公司中的投资减记为零。

Investors and vendors to the automakers feel bankruptcy proceedings for one of the Big Three is as likely as not, judging by a range of financial indicators. GM and Ford bonds trade between 20 to 40 cents on the dollar. Investors have valued $9 billion worth of Chrysler debt at about $3.4 billion. On Thursday, Daimler, which owns 19.9% of Chrysler, wrote its investment in the auto maker down to zero.

通用汽车与克莱斯勒的合并计划实际上会让有着83年历史的克莱斯勒基本土崩瓦解。即便是参与此项交易的人员也承认合并存在风险，因为整合必须尽快进行。

The GM-Chrysler plan would effectively scrap large parts of 83-year-old Chrysler. Even people involved in the deal concede a tieup would be risky because consolidation would have to take place quickly.

据几位参与谈判的人称，通用汽车和克莱斯勒合并后，通用汽车将在产品研发方面发挥主导作用。这些人称，通用汽车将把克莱斯勒现有的几款产品转到通用汽车的架构下以节约成本，或是干脆放弃部分产品。预计通用汽车将保留克莱斯勒更受欢迎的产品：微型客车和吉普车。通用汽车还会向寻求进入美国轻型卡车市场的汽车厂家出售部分汽车生产线，如仍有盈利的Dodge Ram。

Under a merged GM and Chrysler, GM would take the driver's seat in product-development activities, say several people involved in the talks. GM would move several existing Chrysler products to GM architectures to save costs or kill some of the products outright, these people said. GM is expected to save Chrysler's hotter products, minivans and Jeeps. GM could also sell certain vehicle lines, such as the profitable Dodge Ram, to an auto maker seeking entry into the U.S. light-truck market.

此举可能付出巨大的人员成本。两家公司会削减从设计到营销等领域的重合职能。一项内部报告预计，这两家公司可能至少会在美国、加拿大和墨西哥聘用的大约166,000名员工中裁减4万人。

The human toll of such a move could be high. The companies would slash duplicated functions from engineering to marketing. One internal estimate predicts at least 40,000 jobs could be cut from the roughly 166,000 people employed by the two companies in the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

通用汽车的现金储备减少已经有一段时间了。该公司每月的支出比流入要高出10亿美元。按照这个消耗速度，通用汽车明年夏季就会出现现金短缺，这还没有考虑未来销量进一步下降的因素。

GM's cash cushion has been eroding for some time. Each month, the company spends $1 billion more than it brings in. At that burn rate, GM could effectively run short of cash next summer, without even taking into account further sales declines.

通用汽车称，这家百年老店目前手头约有200亿美元现金，但需要至少110亿至140亿美元的营运资金才能继续支付各项开支。该公司近几个月来一直尝试通过出售悍马(Hummer)等资产，或是用盈利的国际业务等未受影响的资产作为抵押获取贷款，以融资至少50亿美元，但这些努力都未能成功。

The 100-year-old company has about $20 billion on hand today, but needs at least $11 billion to $14 billion worth of working capital at all times so it can keep paying its bills, GM has said. The company has been trying for months, without success, to raise at least $5 billion by selling assets, such as its Hummer brand, and by pledging unencumbered assets, such as profitable international operations, as collateral for loans.

放款人不愿对该公司进行投资。曾被认为是最高投资级别的通用汽车债券已经降到了垃圾级。曾被接触过来投资合并后的通用汽车-克莱斯勒的许多放款人也都止步不前。一位大型私人资本运营投资者称，合并后的公司需要许多年才能实现预期中的100亿美元的年度成本节约。与此同时，他说，投资于该公司的债券，而非股票更加安全，因为一旦申请破产，债权人会比股东受到更好的保护。

But lenders are reluctant to invest. GM debt, once considered the highest investment grade, has tumbled to low-rated, junk-bond status. Many lenders approached to invest in a combined GM-Chrysler have also balked. One large private-equity investor said it would take too many years for the combined entity to realize a forecast $10 billion in annual cost savings. Meanwhile, this person said, it's safer to invest in the company's debt instead of its shares, because creditors get better protection than shareholders in the event of a bankruptcy filing.

当Cerberus在2007年春季收购克莱斯勒时，资本市场还是一片火爆。该公司基本是免费收购了克莱斯勒，交换条件是承受其巨大的债务。Cerberus曾预计，一旦克莱斯勒实现私有化，从而退出公众的视野，那么它可能会成长为更小但更强的公司，找到债券投资者帮助他们做到这点并不困难。

When Cerberus purchased Chrysler in the spring of 2007, the capital markets were at full throttle. The firm basically bought Chrysler for free, in exchange for offering to take on its considerable debt. Cerberus expected that once Chrysler was private and outside the public glare it could build a smaller, stronger company, and it wouldn't be difficult to find debt investors to help them do so.

但实际情况并未朝这个方向发展。在两年的时间里，克莱斯勒在美国的汽车销量排名从第三位滑落到了第五位。摩根大通(J.P. Morgan)估计，该公司手头还有110亿美元现金。克莱斯勒用其中的30亿至50亿美元作为营运资金支付工资，给供货商付费和支付其它费用。该公司每月消耗现金3亿至4亿美元。随着汽车销售的放缓，这个数字还可能上升，表明该公司可能在2009年底耗尽现金。为了保存现金，克莱斯勒已停止了部分新产品计划，这个迹象显示它将同通用汽车的交易视为了唯一的救命稻草。

It hasn't turned out that way. In two years, Chrysler has fallen from third to fifth in U.S. auto sales. J.P. Morgan estimates it has $11 billion on hand. It uses $3 billion to $5 billion of that as working capital to meet payroll, pay vendors and pay other bills. Its monthly cash burn is estimated at $300 million to $400 million. That figure may grow as vehicle sales slow, suggesting that it could run out of money by late 2009. To conserve cash, Chrysler has halted certain new-product plans, a sign that it sees a deal with GM as the only path out.

Jeffrey McCracken / John D. Stoll

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