GM, Chrysler say could reconsider merger

DETROIT (Reuters) - General Motors Corp GM.N and Chrysler LLC said on Thursday they would be open to a merger if the U.S. government mandated it as a condition for providing the emergency financing they say is needed to allow them to survive into 2009.

GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner and Chrysler Chief Executive Bob Nardelli were testifying at a U.S. Senate Banking Committee hearing held to consider a request for $34 billion in aid from Detroit's three automakers.

The comments appeared to revive the chances for a merger analysts have said would slash tens of thousands of U.S. auto jobs as a combined Chrysler-GM cut overlapping factories and headquarter operations in Detroit.

Nardelli said Chrysler's analysis showed that a merger between GM and Chrysler could reduce costs of the combined operations by between $8 billion and $10 billion.

Wagoner, who has asked for $18 billion in emergency government funding for GM, agreed that a merger with Chrysler presented an opportunity for "significant cost savings."

He said GM was willing to consider such a strategy if it were a condition for receiving federal funds.

"I would be very willing to look at it seriously," Wagoner said. "We are certainly willing to look at it and consider it very seriously."

"A MARRIAGE THAT MAKES SENSE"

Sen. Robert Bennett, a Republican from Utah, endorsed a merger between GM and Chrysler as a step worth considering as the government weighs rescuing a key manufacturing sector.

"Everything I've seen suggests to me a merger between GM and Chrysler is a good idea," he told the hearing.

"It's a marriage that makes sense. All the work has been done. So it could be done," Bennett said. "Papers could be signed very quickly."

GM executives had talked to Chrysler's owner Cerberus Capital Management CBS.UL about an acquisition of Chrysler starting in September and continuing through October.

At one point, GM had requested $10 billion in public funding to support the rescue package, according to people familiar with the discussions.

The talks were shelved in late October, a move acknowledged by GM and then Chrysler in November. But, until Thursday's hearing, executives from both sides had not discussed the proposed merger publicly.

The disclosure was one of the standouts in over five hours of testimony before the Senate Banking Committee.

Wagoner, answering a question from Sen. Bob Corker, a Republican from Tennessee, confirmed GM's board had rejected the merger proposal as its own cash tightened.

"We did consider an acquisition. Two things happened during the process. One, the market dropped dramatically so our own funding needs increased more than we thought," Wagoner said. "As we discussed that with the board, they said we better make sure we have enough funding to take care of our own business."

Wagoner said GM was concerned that it would have run out of cash before the Chrysler merger could have been completed.

"We were concerned we didn't have the cash to make it until the deal could be closed and the financial institutions could not assure us they could provide that funding," Wagoner said.

However, Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat from Montana, said he wanted assurance that government aid would not be used for a merger. Nardelli said he would agree to that if it were a condition of the assistance.

Nardelli came under fire at the hearing for seeking $7 billion in public funds even as Chrysler considered a sale or merger and Cerberus declined to inject more cash into the company.

Corker said he had spoken to a Cerberus board member on Wednesday who informed him that the private equity group was not willing to inject more money into the auto industry.

"You guys were getting ready to be bankrupt and all of a sudden GM is in trouble and they have clout, if you will, to come up here and ask for public money," Corker said. "All of a sudden there is life again. You might get $7 billion even though your portfolio parent won't inject any more cash."

"I have a little trouble with that," he said, adding that he also backed the idea of a GM-Chrysler merger.

GM says it needs the government to provide $4 billion by the end of the year and another $8 billion by March.

Nardelli said Chrysler could survive until the end of March with $4 billion in federal loans.

(Reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)