Cerberus Capital Management, the same venture capital company that only a few weeks ago bought PM arms manufacturer Remington, has raised more than $60 billion to refinance Chrysler in a move that makes the headline $7.4 billion sale seem almost insignificant.

After flying to Germany to attempt the head off the deal against which he had campaigned for weeks, Ron Gettelfinger, president of the powerful United Auto Workers union, dramatically swung behind the deal, saying: “You have to play the car you’re dealt.” It’s a conversion to pragmatism that will not be lost upon the remaining two of Detroit’s Big Three – General Motors and Ford – when pay negotiations begin later this summer.

The apparent determination of Cerberus to try to make a going concern of Chrysler has surprised some observers who had expected an asset-stripping operation with the sale of valuable assets such as the Jeep brand.

Daimler is unlikely to walk away with very much of the sale price. Side commitments to financing of health and pension scheme could mean, say industry insiders, that the German company will register a loss.

What happens to Chrysler is of intense interest to key PM manufacturers such as GKN and Stackpole and the big US powder manufacturers Hoeganaes Corporation and North American Höganäs.