Place your bids: Chrysler's worth explained... briefly

Can this be the buy of the century? As the rumors of Chrysler's sale increase analysts are starting to talk about just how much it might cost a prospective bidder to secure the rights from Daimler. The numbers they are throwing around seem amazingly cheap. Some are going so far as to say that DCX might have to pay a potential suitor to take Chrysler off its hands. The huge $16.7 billion health care funding is one of the big reasons for that, but the values the analysts are putting on the various Chrysler holdings might come as a shock to many readers. Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley Research in London lists the values thusly:

• Dodge: $6.6 billion.
• Jeep: $5.3 billion.
• Chrysler brand: $3.2 billion.
• Global operations, such as Chrysler's stake in Magna Steyr: $1.4 billion.
• Joint ventures, such as Beijing Jeep: $682 million.
• Real estate, including the company headquarters, technical center and proving grounds: $1.4 billion.
• Deferred taxes and overfunded pension assets: $7.1 billion.

Not included in those estimates is Chrysler Financial which is said to be worth around $7.6 billion on its own. The weird thing about any sale of Chrysler is that buyers will be wanting to know that things are looking up with the company, but it's hard for employees to focus on the future of the company when they are so uncertain of the very existence of Chrysler. GM is still the biggest name being bandied as a potential buyer after several prominent automakers have said they are not interested.

[Source: Automotive News, sub req]