DETROIT (AP) -- Chrysler LLC could be sold in pieces to other companies as its majority shareholder Cerberus Capital Management LP seeks to exit the auto business, according to a person briefed on the discussions.

Cerberus, the New York-based private equity firm, has been shopping the beleaguered automaker to General Motors Corp., the combined Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA and other companies.

Many combinations are being discussed, said the person who has been briefed on the talks. The person asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.

Chrysler spokeswoman Shawn Morgan and Cerberus spokesman Peter Duda declined to comment.

Cerberus's efforts to exit the automobile industry have been widely reported in recent weeks, though speculation has swirled over what shape the final deal might take.

One deal being discussed reportedly calls for Cerberus to hand over Chrysler to GM in exchange for GM's 49 percent stake in GMAC Financial Services.

GM sold a 51 percent stake in its finance arm to Cerberus in 2006. Cerberus also would get an equity stake in GM, hoping to get a good return should GM recover when U.S. auto sales bounce back from a serious slump.

GM is said to be interested in Chrysler for its cash. Chrysler, whose sales have dropped 25 percent during the first nine months of the year, reportedly has about $11 billion available.

It also has debt, but the amount hasn't been disclosed because Chrysler a private company. Cerberus bought an 80.1 percent stake in Chrysler from Germany's Daimler AG in a $7.4 billion deal last year.

Chrysler's cash may not be enough for GM to take on its money-losing rival, though, and the federal government may be involved in an effort to inject cash to prop up the deal.

"All GM really wants out of this deal is the money that Chrysler is sitting on," said John Wolconowicz, auto analyst for the consulting firm Global Insight. "They really don't want any of the rest of it."

Wolconowicz said breaking Chrysler into multiple pieces is a viable scenario, with Nissan-Renault possibly getting a piece of the company. Such an arrangement would make sense, he said, because Chrysler and Nissan are already cooperating on several car-making ventures.

"Nissan has existing agreements with Chrysler that go both ways," he said, referring to a deal announced earlier this year in which Nissan would build small cars for Chrysler, while Chrysler will make a full-size pickup truck designed by Nissan.

Whatever the final outcome of the negotiations, analysts agree that it will have to involve widespread factory closures and layoffs for some of Chrysler's 66,409 employees, resulting in a leaner, more efficient -- and significantly downsized -- automaker.

Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm told reporters in Lansing on Wednesday that a GM-Chrysler merger could lead to as many as 30,000 job losses, with Michigan being hit harder than any other state.

"If GM and Chrysler merge in a way that costs thousands of jobs, it will hurt Michigan, there's no question about it," she said. "If Nissan-Renault is involved, it may be a different scenario."

Granholm said she has been speaking with executives involved, adding, "I think something is going to happen."

Other analysts note that financing for the deal remains a key element to any final deal. Citi Investment Research analyst Itay Michaeli said in a recent report that a combined GM and Chrysler would require at least $10 billion to $12 billion in fresh liquidity.

However, this could pose a problem given the turbulence in the capital markets, Michaeli said, making it "feasible that the government could step in to provide support."

Detroit-based GM is itself burning up cash, going through more than $1 billion per month. Several analysts have predicted it will reach its minimum operating cash level of $14 billion sometime next year.

GM's sales were down 18 percent for the first nine months of this year. The company has lost $57.5 billion in the past 18 months, although much of that comes from noncash tax accounting changes.

Associated Press Writer Kathy Barks Hoffman contributed to this report from Lansing, Mich. Dan Strumpf reported from New York.