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Renault-Nissan moves to buy Jeep brand

15 January 2009 10:49 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Nijat Mustafayev â€“ APA-Economics. Cash-starved US automaker Chrysler, which has received billions in a federal rescue, said Wednesday it was not in talks to sell its Jeep brand, denying reported negotiations with Renault-Nissan, AFP reports.
The Renault-Nissan Alliance is a French-Japanese global automotive group linked by cross-shareholdings. The joint operation is the world’s fifth-largest automaker, with a nine percent market share.
"What was reported -- that we’re in discussions to sell the Jeep brand -- is absolutely false," Chrysler vice president Tom LaSorda said in a teleconference with reporters.
"We will not separate the brands from the company," he added.
Under an agreement with the US government, the privately owned Chrysler received a four billion dollar loan from the US Treasury in early January to help stay afloat amid plunging US auto sales.
LaSorda pointed out that the government loan deal stipulates "any transaction over 100 million (dollars) requires approval."
Chrysler, owned by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management, posted the worst US sales for December among the Detroit Big Three that includes General Motors, the largest US automaker, and number-three Ford.
Chrysler’s US sales plummeted by 53 percent in December, dragging 2008 sales down 30 percent.