Cerberus Capital Management LP has approached Daimler AG about buying the German company's remaining 19.9 percent stake in Chrysler Holding LLC.

Daimler and Cerberus officials both confirmed the talks this afternoon. A Cerberus spokesman said all industrial ties between the two companies would continue even after a potential sale.

The private-equity firm Cerberus bought 80.1 percent of Chrysler from Daimler in August 2007 for $7.4 billion. Chrysler Holding encompasses Chrysler LLC, the automaker, and DaimlerChrysler Financial Services Americas LLC, which goes by the market name of Chrysler Financial.

Both the auto and financial companies would be included in a transaction.

"It's still very early to tell why this is happening," Aaron Bragman, auto analyst at Global Insight, told Reuters.

Bragman said it was unclear what had prompted the sale talks between the two Chrysler stakeholders, adding that it was possible Daimler had decided to cut its losses or was taking advantage of an unpublicized provision of the original sale contract.

"Maybe it's a prelude to Cerberus taking total control before a sale to a third party," Bragman said. "We will just have to wait and see."

Daimler has lost money on its stake in Chrysler. In July, Daimler reported it had lost roughly $515 million on its Chrysler stake during the first quarter of 2008.

The two companies kept up several industrial ventures after the divorce. Daimler makes Dodge Sprinter cargo vans, which are built in Germany and finished in Ladson, S.C. The two automakers also jointly operate Beijing Benz-DaimlerChrysler, which makes Chrysler 300C and Sebring sedans in China.

Chrysler and Daimler are also joint venture partners, along with BMW and General Motors, in the Hybrid Development Center that has developed two-mode hybrid propulsion systems. Chrysler already has a pair of two-mode hybrids on the market, the Chrysler Aspen and Dodge Durango Hemi Hybrids.

Reuters contributed to this report