CHICAGO — The three U.S. automakers with historic ties to Michigan are considering donating millions to the Detroit Institute of Art as part of a plan to protect the city-owned art collection while raising money for Detroit's pensioners.
General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., and Chrysler Group LLC could give as much as $25 million or more, according to reports in local Detroit papers.
"We are having confidential discussions with the DIA and are considering the matter very carefully," Ford Fund spokesman Todd Nissan said in a statement. "Ford has been a long-time supporter of the DIA and its contributions to southeast Michigan."
The DIA reportedly approached the automakers a few weeks ago and requested they donate up to $50 million. The museum has pledged to raise $100 million as part of a so-called grand bargain crafted by bankruptcy court mediators and state officials.
The deal calls for a group of private foundations to raise at least $366 million and the state to give $195 million, on top of the DIA's $100 million. All the money would go into the city's two pension funds.
The museum may also ask automobile suppliers for contributions, according to the Detroit Free Press.
Some creditors, including holders of $1.4 billion of the city's pension certificates of participation, have objected to the plan as discriminatory against non-labor creditors.
In related news, the DIA Monday filed a request asking the bankruptcy court to prohibit creditors from physically removing art work from the museum's walls. A few creditors, led by Financial Guaranty Insurance Co., argue the grand bargain undervalues the art collection, and want to bring in their own assessors and bidders to evaluate the collection. FGIC wants assessors to be able to take pictures of each piece. Federal Judge Steven Rhodes, who is overseeing the case, will hold a hearing on the issue Thursday.
