The historic sale of Chrysler to private-equity company Cerberus Capital Management is now complete. The firm finalized its 80.1% takeover of the Chrysler Group today, ending the nine year old merger between Daimler-Benz and Chrysler.

As per the agreement signed on May 14, 2007, DaimlerChrysler retains 19.9% of the company. Additionally, DC is pledging a $1.5 billion loan, combined with another $500 million from Cerberus to help finance the majority takeover. In a statement, DC said it believes that the financial support is "a strong sign of its overall determination to make sure that, under the majority of Cerberus, Chrysler has a good start as a successful stand-alone car company."

Shareholders of DaimlerChrysler will gather in Stuttgart on October 4 to decide on an official name change for the company. In the meantime, Chrysler is planning a celebration to mark the change on Monday at its headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan.