Bailout Fail: Ford Drops Debt, while GM and Chrysler Flounder

Andrew M. Grossman / April 07, 2009

After months of pressure from the federal government to push down General Motors’s and Chrysler’s debt loads, a deal remains far out of reach. With the promise of further federal bailouts, no debt-holders wants to make concessions—accepting just 30 or 40 cents on the dollar, and much of that in possibly worthless stock—when holdouts could wind up paid in full.

Bailout-free Ford announced yesterday that investors agreed to swap nearly $10 billion dollars in its debt for cash and stock, reducing its total debt burden by 28 percent. The price: about 38 cents on the dollar. After the late-afternoon announcement, Ford stock rallied, gaining 16 percent. (more…)