BREAKING NEWS: Kerkorian may buy up more of GM
Kirk Kerkorian may buy up to 12 million additional shares of GM stock, according to Automotive News. The billionaire investor would need approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission for the deal because it would send his company, Tracinda Corporation, well over 10 percent ownership of GM common stock.
The move supports GM's potential alliance with Renault/Nissan, a merger that Kerkorian has battled for from the beginning. Officially, Tracinda said this in the filing with the SEC:
"Tracinda continues to believe that a strong opportunity exists in a potential alliance between General Motors, Renault and Nissan and that there should be strong General Motors board involvement in the analysis of such a potential alliance, including the utilization of independent advisors."
We're interested to see what power this gives Kerkorian and right-hand man Jerry York, whom Kerkorian has placed onto GM's board of directors.
[Source: Automotive News]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Josh E. Oliver 12:58PM (9/28/2006)
Bad news all around. I'm a fan of Kerkorian and his motives which are speed up the turnaround and show results NOW, but I'm not in favor of Kerkorian increasing his share just to sell it back to Renault-Nissan.
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Ryan 12:10PM (9/28/2006)
Gosh, when you are as old as that I would rather just want to live my days out with the money you have already, rather than stressing about GM.
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jfrolang 12:19PM (9/28/2006)
It seems this guy is determined to run GM himself.
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rwdmtparkingonly 12:36PM (9/28/2006)
Cost obsessed people with finance backgrounds have done nothing but good for GM so far. One just needs to look at the wonderful cars that GM made during the 1980s to see what a good combination of penny pinching and lack of interest in cars by management can do.
The last time I was in a GM I though "Wow, what an amazing interior; this is really too nice, they should have beat down the supplier more and got something less expensive."
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arnie 12:49PM (9/28/2006)
This means that he feels that the deal is not going through and he wants to put more pressure on the GM board. As we know he is incapable of giving up. He's still harassing DCX in court after he "failed" to realize that it was a takeover. Kirk is just a vermin on an ego trip.
It seems the only thing GM can do now is to hold the fort until the old bastard leaves this plane of existence.
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Glenn 12:55PM (9/28/2006)
Frankly, I hope GM tanks AFTER this bozo buys up 100% of it, and rolls into Chapter 7 bankruptcy so the rich git loses it all. He's a scumbag.
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Richard Warren 12:56PM (9/28/2006)
Yesterday:
http://www.autoblog.com/2006/09/27/gm-and-renault-nissan-come-back-into-the-forefront-continuing-t/
My comment then, same as today stock manipulation, puffery.
I bought at 17 and change today at this moment 32.89 I've made a nice little sum nearly doubling my money. How much do you think, he's made?
He wants to buy to be ready to sell with an inflated stock price at time of sale. Target I'd say is around 42, then He's out, maybe even at 35. And who makes the money? The guys at the top one more time, with not a thought about the company.
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Andy, UK 1:18PM (9/28/2006)
Put simply, a merger between Renault-Nissan and GM would be a disaster. Kirk Kerkorian is not interested in the future corporate identities of these distinct companies and their brands; nor is he perturbed by the culture clash which would inevitably occur. Who would run the company? Ghosn of Wagoner? Kerkorian doesn't care. This man is fuelled instead by greed; when he's made enough billions from GM shares he will flog his ownership stake in the company and pursue another ailing company in the hopes of further increasing his vast wealth, again at the expense of employees and the long-term financial well-being of the company. Between the 3 companies, General Motors, Renault and Nissan there are over 600,000 employees; it doesn't take a genius to consider the ramifications of such a merger. Renault is Europe's leading brand by market share and competes directly with GM's Opel/Vauxhall division. What would become of the identities of these companies and product development? I fail to see any point to this merger, especially in light of recent signs of a recovery within GM; an annual loss in excess of $10 billion in 2005 has forced the company to radically restructure its operations, and with some signs of success. Equally, Ghosn surely has enough on his plate with Nissan's sagging performance in North America and Japan, and Renault's increasingly poor performance in Europe. This merger would be a disaster on an unpredecented scale for everyone except Kerkorkian and his klan.
Sadly there seems to be no way to force this old man into retirement; I voluntarily suggest forcing him into an early grave.
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Bob 6:19AM (11/23/2006)
The name Kerkorkian sounds too close to Kevorkian (Dr. Death). A similarity of situations, perhaps???
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arnie 1:47PM (9/28/2006)
Andy,
You better watch out dude. Captain Kirk might sue you! Doesn't mean you're wrong though. Maybe we should all donate some money for a good cause! No just kidding!
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Cornelius B. 2:25PM (9/28/2006)
So he runs LA... not Mel Gibson.
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fizzandpop 2:36PM (9/28/2006)
I always get this guy confused with Dr. Kevorkian. Maybe he's got an assisted suicide plan for GM. It is terminally ill, we should have more compassion. I could go on...
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