Fortune 500 Profiles |
Not that analysts are cutting the cake just yet. "What we don't know right now is just how far along the talks are," says TIME Bonn bureau chief Jordan Bonfante. "A deal like this is very complex -- just look at Rolls Royce and BMW, a much more simple negotiation that has dragged on for months." Other hurdles on the road to wedlock: Antitrust investigations in both Brussels and Washington. Of course, the course of corporate love never did run smooth. And the promise of all those hot sports utility vehicles at Chrysler should keep Daimler on the straight and narrow.