Delphi Accepts $3.4 Billion in Financing
Auto parts supplier Delphi Corp. said Monday it has accepted a $3.4 billion investment from a group of private equity companies to support its emergence from bankruptcy protection. Under the deal, affiliates of Appaloosa Management LP, Cerberus Capital Management LP and Harbinger Capital Partners Master Fund I, as well as Merrill Lynch & Co. and UBS Securities LLC, would invest the company. The investment group will invest a minimum of $1.4 billion and a maximum of $3.4 billion in the struggling company in exchange for common and preferred stock that will be issued in the first half of next year.
Kerkorian Sells Full Stake in GM
General Motors Corp.’s painful process of reinventing itself apparently will continue without Kirk Kerkorian, whose ownership of almost 10 percent of the world’s largest automaker failed to become a lever for the changes he sought. The Wall Street Journal, citing a person familiar with the matter, reported in Friday’s edition that the billionaire investor sold his entire remaining investment in GM — 28 million shares — at $29.95 a share, a transaction worth more than $800 million. The newspaper reported that the shares were sold to Bank of America, a key lender to Kerkorian.
Dura Creditors Protest $300 Million Loan
Hedge funds that own major pieces of Dura Automotive Systems Inc.’s debt say the parts maker’s plan to finance its bankruptcy threatens to jeopardize their rights. The auto parts supplier filed for Chapter 11 protection Oct. 30 with plans for a $300 million debtor-in-possession finance package that would allow it to pay off holders of first-lien debt, who are owed about $125 million.
Part III of Leadership’s Role: Define and Communicate the Three Clarities
Clarity of measurement is an important part of building a high-performing company. It provides clear expectations and accountabilities, clear goals and quantitative measurements of goal attainment contributions and activities. Measurements are crucial. If you cannot measure, you cannot control. If you cannot control, you cannot change. It is as simple as that. Quantitative measurements are essential ingredients in becoming, and staying, world-class.
Clarity of Structure: More than an Organizational Chart
The following article is part two of a three-part series by special guest contributor Chuck Udell, a senior partner at Essential Action Design Group. The article, inspired by a popular presentation Udell has given to numerous aftermarket professionals, addresses the importance of building a sense of ownership among all employees from top brass, to floor staff. As we witness dramatic changes in the North American aftermarket, a sense of ownership and loyalty among all employees may play a critical role in the future success of our industry, says Udell.
No Shotgun Wedding for Ford and GM
It would make about as much sense as Microsoft and Apple Computer merging. Or the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. Executives at Ford Motor and General Motors whispered on Monday that a report in trade publication Automotive News was on the money — that the chief financial officers of the two ailing auto giants did meet recently to discuss an alliance of some kind. It did happen. Those same executives, though, quickly added that the two sobered up, retreated to their offices, and agreed that nothing would come of it.
Leadership’s Role: Define and Communicate the Three Clarities
The following article is part one of a three-part series by special guest contributor Chuck Udell, a senior partner at Essential Action Design Group. The article, inspired by a popular presentation Udell has given to numerous aftermarket professionals, addresses the importance of building a sense of ownership among all employees from top brass to floor staff. As we witness dramatic changes in the North American aftermarket, a sense of ownership and loyalty among all employees may play a critical role in the future success of our industry, says Udell.
Auto Suppliers with Links to Ford See Shares Fall on Monday
From AFX News Limited NEW YORK — Shares of auto suppliers with ties to Ford Motor Co. continued to fall Monday on the automaker’s announcement of plans to significantly cut production for the remainder of the year. On Friday, the nation’s No. 2 automaker said fourth-quarter production would be down 21 percent, or 168,000 units,
Wave of Retiring Japanese Workers Could Force Big Changes
No one knows spindles like Katsuya Hyodo. For more than three decades, the diminutive factory worker, armed with only a junior high school education, has studied and designed the whirring cylinders at the heart of automotive machine tools. “I like spindles,” Hyodo says. “There are so many different kinds.” His expertise and passion are priceless to a small company like his employer, machine tool manufacturer Nishijimax (annual revenue: $30 million). Just one problem: Katsuya is 72 years old. That’s why he spends Sunday afternoons at home transcribing everything he knows about spindles into his computer. He wants to make sure his wisdom reaches the next generation. “I am not just doing it for myself,” he says.
Lear Borrows $800 million for Debts: Parts Maker Also Suspends Dividend
Lear Corp. announced Wednesday it had secured $800 million in loans, suspended its quarterly dividend and reached an agreement to transfer its European interior business to a joint venture with W.L. Ross & Co. LLC. The moves are designed to improve the financial health of the Southfield, MI-based auto supplier, which lost $1.4 billion last year. Lear Chairman and CEO Bob Rossiter has tried to allay concerns that his company is headed for bankruptcy, joining the likes of fellow auto suppliers Delphi Corp. and Collins & Aikman Corp.