DaimlerChrysler AG's criteria for a possible sale of its Chrysler division could help a bid by Canadian auto-parts supplier Magna International Inc., The Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday.

DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Dieter Zetsche has confirmed the company is in talks with would-be buyers, and for the first time he outlined the priorities that will guide the company in deciding what to do with its U.S. division.

Among them are making Chrysler "profitable on a sustainable basis" and finding "the best possible option for the employees." Company observers say those criteria favor Magna, which is interested in boosting its auto-making operations and has gained some union support, over private-equity investors, according to the report.

The DaimlerChrysler is entertaining bids from interested parties, including private-equity firm Cerberus Capital Management LP, a tandem of Blackstone Group and Centerbridge Capital Partners, and Magna, according to people familiar with the matter.

Reports said Magna had submitted a bid to buy the business for as much as 4.7 billion dollars.

DaimlerChrysler executive Ruediger Grube, who is head of strategy, will meet with potential buyers next week in New York, the report quoted a person familiar with the matter as saying.

DaimlerChrysler, the world's fifth bigger carmaker, was formed through a 36-billion-U.S. dollar merger of Daimler and Chrysler.

On Feb. 14, Zetsche declared that the German-American automaker was considering "all options" for its Chrysler unit, which lost 1.5 billion US dollars in 2006.

Source: Xinhua