NYT confirms that Bain Capital really, really REALLY did not want to lend GM and Chrysler money

[kpete]

The New York Times confirms that Bain Capital really, really REALLY did not want to lend GM and Chrysler money for their managed bankruptcies. Really.

..................
About two-thirds down, the article says:

To go through the bankruptcy process, both companies needed billions of dollars in financing, money that auto executives and government officials who were involved with Mr. Obama’s auto task force say was not available at a time when the credit markets had dried up. The only entity that could provide the $80 billion needed, they say, was the federal government. No private companies would come to the industry’s aid, and the only path through bankruptcy would have been Chapter 7 liquidation, not the more orderly Chapter 11 reorganization, these people said.

In fact, the task force asked Bain Capital, the private equity company that Mr. Romney helped found, if it was interested in investing in General Motors’ European operations, according to one person with direct knowledge of the discussions.

Bain declined, this person said, speaking anonymously to discuss private negotiations.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/20/us/politics/after-auto-bailout-detroit-fallout-trails-romney.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&partner=rss&emc=rss

http://www.angrybearblog.com/2012/02/new-york-times-confirms-that-bain.html

[banned from Kos]

1. Bain could make more money buying the scraps out of liquidation

buying anything while intact would mean picking up UAW responsibilities.

[DCKit]

2. Yeah, they sure know how to play THAT game.

But I know there was at least one company they bought, cannibalized and the U.S. government ended up being saddled with the pension fund liabilities. It's standard practice with vulture hedge funds, so I doubt that was the only one.

I guess the accountants, maybe the PR people, didn't think they could make that work with GM.