by Calculated Risk on 10/27/2008 05:31:00 PM

From the WSJ: GM May Get Loan for Chrysler Deal

The Department of Energy is working to release $5 billion in loans to General Motors Corp. ... The funds would come from a pool of $25 billion in low-interest loans approved by Congress to help Detroit retool its plants to meet new fuel-efficiency standards. It's not clear how quickly the money could be made available or whether it would come with strings attached.

And from Reuters: US Treasury working on aid for GM, Chrysler merger

The U.S. government is considering direct financial assistance to facilitate a possible merger between General Motors Corp and Chrysler ... The Treasury Department is weighing aid of at least $5 billion, which could include capital injections and government purchases of bad auto loans ...

It looks more and more likely that GM will acquire Chrysler.

Also of interest, just last week Daimler wrote the value of their Chrysler holdings down to zero according to a report in the Free Press: Daimler: Chrysler worth nothing

The German automaker has depreciated its stake in Chrysler to zero from $268 million at the end of June, the company said Thursday. A little over a year ago, the company valued its 19.9% stake in Chrysler at $2.2 billion.