Green Light For Cerberus To Buy Chrysler

WASHINGTON (AP) - Cerberus Capital Management got the green light to buy Chrysler for $7 billion.

Sources close to the deal say federal antitrust regulators have cleared the Cerberus purchase of Chrysler, before the end of a standard 30-day review. Early termination of the Federal Trade Commission review suggests there will be no conditions placed on the deal.

The early decision has been confirmed by two sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

Private-equity firm Cerberus agreed last month to pay DaimlerChrysler seven-point-four billion dollars for 80.1 percent of its U.S. automotive operations.

Daimler paid $36 billion for them in 1998. The Cerberus deal is expected to close in the third quarter.