Court re-opens door for Chrysler sale

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} The US Supreme Court, which earlier in the week put the sale of Chrysler assets to a Fiat-led consortium on hold, has now ruled that a full appeal against the plan is not justified.   On Monday, the court granted a request to delay the sale while three Indiana state pension and construction funds pursued an appeal against it.   A federal appeals court in New York had earlier approved the sale of Chrysler to the Italian automaker, but gave opponents until Monday to persuade the Supreme Court to intervene.   The objectors needed to persuade at least four of the nine justices that the issue raised was serious enough to warrant hearing a full appeal. "The applicants have not carried that burden," the court said in its ruling.   Analysts now expect the sale to go ahead within the next few days.   The US government, which strongly backed the sale, issued a statement applauding the decision.   "The Chrysler-Fiat alliance can now go forward, allowing Chrysler to re-emerge as a competitive and viable automaker," it said.   Under the proposed deal Fiat would emerge with management control and a 20 percent stake of Chrysler, while 68 percent would be owned by a union trust, with the US and Canadian governments sharing 12 percent.   The pension funds claimed that the deal turned normal bankruptcy practice upside down, by rewarding unsecured creditors, such as the union, ahead of secured lenders.   However, the Government statement continued: "We are gratified that not a single court that reviewed this matter, including the US Supreme Court, found any fault whatsoever with the handling of this matter by either Chrysler or the US government."   The Chrysler case may also set a precedent for General Motors, which entered bankruptcy protection on 1 June.   *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *