DaimlerChrysler AG is expected to winnow the list of bidders for its troubled Chrysler Group to one or two finalists very soon, possibly in the next few days preceding the DCX annual shareholder meeting Wednesday in Berlin, say people familiar with the talks.

Once that happens, an intense period of exhaustive due-diligence investigation and negotiations — perhaps lasting for months — will follow to hammer out details and the ultimate price tag for a highly complex transaction to extricate Chrysler from the rocky nine-year marriage.

What’s all but certain at this point is DCX will sell all or part of the Auburn Hills-based American operations, because Daimler’s stock price has shot up more than 25% since Chief Executive Officer Dieter Zetsche put Chrysler in play Feb. 14 by declaring that “all options” regarding its future were open. To now backtrack and do nothing with Chrysler would be to risk a collapse of the DCX stock price.

Participants in the DCX-Chrysler talks insist that no concrete dollar amounts have been placed on offers for Chrysler, which reported a $1.5-billion operating loss last year.

German parent DCX may keep a significant minority stake in Chrysler as part of the deal, to ease a new owner’s possible fears about the magnitude of future liabilities for Chrysler pensions and retiree health care costs.

More at Detroit Free Press