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No deal, Kerkorian vows
December 05, 2003 01:17:24
Associated Press
12/04/2003
No deal, Kerkorian vows
Chrysler investor testifies he was duped
By RANDALL CHASE
Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian maintained Wednesday that he was
duped into supporting a takeover of Chrysler disguised as a merger
with Daimler-Benz.
Attorneys for DaimlerChrysler finished their cross-examination of
Kerkorian Wednesday afternoon in his billion-dollar lawsuit against
the company.
Upon leaving the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Kerkorian vowed
there would be no settlement talks.
Kerkorian attorney Terry Christensen said a DaimlerChrysler official
in Germany had been quoted in the media as suggesting the company was
open to settlement talks.
DaimlerChrysler spokesman Han Tjan said he was unaware of any such
offer, and that no discussions were under way.
"I will never enter settlement talks with DaimlerChrysler," Kerkorian
said. "We're going to trial. We'll lose it or win it."
"This is not about money," he added. "This is about deceit and
fraud."
Kerkorian, whose Tracinda Corp. was the largest Chrysler shareholder
at the time of the merger, claims Daimler-Benz officials secretly
organized a takeover of Chrysler while proposing a merger of equals.
As a result, Kerkorian claims, Daimler-Benz avoided paying him an
acquisition fee of up to 62 percent on his shares when the companies
merged.
DaimlerChrysler maintains Kerkorian supported the deal and grew
disgruntled only when his shares lost value.
DaimlerChrysler attorney Jonathan Lerner suggested Wednesday that
Kerkorian didn't really care whether the DaimlerChrysler management
board was split evenly between Germans and Americans, as long as his
trusted contact, former Chrysler chairman Robert Eaton, was still
with the new company.
"As long as Eaton was around, it didn't matter much, did it?" Lerner
asked Kerkorian.
Kerkorian maintained he was always concerned about the makeup of the
management board, even if he didn't pay close attention to details of
the business combination or the operations of the new company.
Kerkorian said he didn't realize Eaton would not be replaced when he
stepped aside after the agreed-upon three years as co-chairman of
DaimlerChrysler, leaving Jurgen Schrempp as the chief executive.
"It was important that Robert Eaton was there," Kerkorian said.
Eaton is scheduled to testify today.
Earlier Wednesday, former Chrysler president James Holden testified
he supported the combination of DaimlerBenz and Chrysler and would do
so again today, even though he was fired after the transaction.
"I would do it again," Holden replied when asked by Chrysler attorney
Robert Saunders if he regretted supporting the merger.
Holden was questioned for 3 1/2 hours by attorneys before facing
further questions from U.S. District Judge Joseph Farnan Jr., who is
presiding over the bench trial.
Farnan asked Holden whether he considered the combination of the
companies a merger or an acquisition by Daimler-Benz, and whether he
would have supported the transaction in 1998 had he known of the
statements made two years later by Schrempp.
Holden said that while Schrempp may have made some "incendiary"
statements, he believed the business combination was a merger, not an
acquisition by Daimler-Benz.
"You don't believe that he believed it was an acquisition?" Farnan
asked, referring to Schrempp.
"As proud as these guys are of their heritage, ... to change the name
of that company ... I don't believe he would have gone through that
if he didn't think it was a merger," Holden replied.
December 05, 2003 01:17:24
Associated Press
12/04/2003
No deal, Kerkorian vows
Chrysler investor testifies he was duped
By RANDALL CHASE
Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian maintained Wednesday that he was
duped into supporting a takeover of Chrysler disguised as a merger
with Daimler-Benz.
Attorneys for DaimlerChrysler finished their cross-examination of
Kerkorian Wednesday afternoon in his billion-dollar lawsuit against
the company.
Upon leaving the federal courthouse in Wilmington, Kerkorian vowed
there would be no settlement talks.
Kerkorian attorney Terry Christensen said a DaimlerChrysler official
in Germany had been quoted in the media as suggesting the company was
open to settlement talks.
DaimlerChrysler spokesman Han Tjan said he was unaware of any such
offer, and that no discussions were under way.
"I will never enter settlement talks with DaimlerChrysler," Kerkorian
said. "We're going to trial. We'll lose it or win it."
"This is not about money," he added. "This is about deceit and
fraud."
Kerkorian, whose Tracinda Corp. was the largest Chrysler shareholder
at the time of the merger, claims Daimler-Benz officials secretly
organized a takeover of Chrysler while proposing a merger of equals.
As a result, Kerkorian claims, Daimler-Benz avoided paying him an
acquisition fee of up to 62 percent on his shares when the companies
merged.
DaimlerChrysler maintains Kerkorian supported the deal and grew
disgruntled only when his shares lost value.
DaimlerChrysler attorney Jonathan Lerner suggested Wednesday that
Kerkorian didn't really care whether the DaimlerChrysler management
board was split evenly between Germans and Americans, as long as his
trusted contact, former Chrysler chairman Robert Eaton, was still
with the new company.
"As long as Eaton was around, it didn't matter much, did it?" Lerner
asked Kerkorian.
Kerkorian maintained he was always concerned about the makeup of the
management board, even if he didn't pay close attention to details of
the business combination or the operations of the new company.
Kerkorian said he didn't realize Eaton would not be replaced when he
stepped aside after the agreed-upon three years as co-chairman of
DaimlerChrysler, leaving Jurgen Schrempp as the chief executive.
"It was important that Robert Eaton was there," Kerkorian said.
Eaton is scheduled to testify today.
Earlier Wednesday, former Chrysler president James Holden testified
he supported the combination of DaimlerBenz and Chrysler and would do
so again today, even though he was fired after the transaction.
"I would do it again," Holden replied when asked by Chrysler attorney
Robert Saunders if he regretted supporting the merger.
Holden was questioned for 3 1/2 hours by attorneys before facing
further questions from U.S. District Judge Joseph Farnan Jr., who is
presiding over the bench trial.
Farnan asked Holden whether he considered the combination of the
companies a merger or an acquisition by Daimler-Benz, and whether he
would have supported the transaction in 1998 had he known of the
statements made two years later by Schrempp.
Holden said that while Schrempp may have made some "incendiary"
statements, he believed the business combination was a merger, not an
acquisition by Daimler-Benz.
"You don't believe that he believed it was an acquisition?" Farnan
asked, referring to Schrempp.
"As proud as these guys are of their heritage, ... to change the name
of that company ... I don't believe he would have gone through that
if he didn't think it was a merger," Holden replied.
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