February 16, 2010
Chrysler gets bid for Twinsburg, Ohio, plant | detnews.com | The Detroit News
Chrysler gets bid for Twinsburg, Ohio, plant
A Cleveland-based consortium has made a $27.5 billion bid for Chrysler's Twinsburg, Ohio, stamping plant, which is among the bankrupt assets held by Old Carco LLC.
A series of bankruptcy documents filed this week identify the buyer as Twinsburg Industrial Park LLC, which entered into a purchase agreement Feb. 12. The court approved.
The industrial group solidified its intent to buy the 2-million-square-foot plant and equipment with a $2.75 million deposit.
The offer makes Twinsburg Industrial Park the "stalking horse" bid that other interested parties must outbid by at least $750,000 to be considered.
The deadline for competing bids is March 5 and if there are more qualified offers, an auction would be held March 10.
A hearing to approve the sale of the plant and its equipment is set for March 11 before Judge Arthur Gonzalez in New York.
Documents show the Chrysler estate received inquiries from 31 parties initially about acquiring the Twinsburg assets, but the interest translated into only seven letters of intent and finally, one offer to purchase.
Twinsburg was initially slated to close next month but the need to stamp a supply of parts for vehicles such as Chrysler's family of minivans will keep the plant and its roughly 400 workers employed until June 26.
Chrysler Group LLC, which was formed with partner Fiat SpA last June and which purchased most of the old Chrysler's assets, is legally entitled to use the Twinsburg property through July 31.
The automaker said carrying costs to maintain the facility and property amounted to about $2.4 million annually.
Old Carco's largest transaction to date is last November's sale of its Newark, Delaware plant to the University of Delaware for $24.2 million.
