<![CDATA[Jalopnik: Kerkorian]]> http://cache.jalopnik.com/assets/base/img/thumbs140x140/jalopnik.com.png <![CDATA[Jalopnik: Kerkorian]]> http://jalopnik.com/tag/kerkorian http://jalopnik.com/tag/kerkorian <![CDATA[Kirk Kerkorian May Lose $670 Million On Ford Gamble]]> We wondered if Kirk Kerkorian wasn't just a little mad when he bought a 5.5% stake in Ford after selling his GM stock and unsuccessfully attempting to buy Chrysler. News that he's now bailing on his investment has some estimating that Kerkorian, who owns the primary stake in MGM Grand, lost upwards of $670 million on his gamble. The math below the jump. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=5066545&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Ford In Talks With Chinese About Volvo Sale]]> Ford is reportedly negotiating the sale of Volvo to Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. While no deal has been announced yet, and Ford is officially continuing to say Volvo is not for sale, Kirk Kerkorian, the billionaire investor who recently gained control of 6.5% of Ford shares, has come out in favor of a Volvo divestiture. Considering the performance of Chinese cars in recent crash tests (though not specifically SAIC cars), the logic of purchasing an automaker with a reputation for safe cars is diabolically sound. Chinese world takeover theories begin in five, four, three... [Automotive News (sub. req.)] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=397077&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Kirk Kerkorian: 5.5% Of Ford Or Another Shutout?]]> Some of you may remember that way back on May 9, Kirk Kerkorian, America's favorite nonagenarian billionaire, made a cash purchase offer for 20 million Ford shares at $8.50 apiece. Well, that offer expires today at 5 pm. If Ford accepts the offer, Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp would pay a premium to attain a 5.5% stake in the Blue Oval. If Ford declines the offer, they leave a whole bunch of cash on the table, but they get to send Kerkorian home with an 0-3 record in Motown. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=395439&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Autoextremist Feels Ghosn, York, KirkKerk; Doesn't Like It]]> Sweet Peet D looks at the ways GM, Nissan and Renault could unite on specific products, including an engine-manufaturing alliance much like Hyundai, DCX and Mitsu's GEMA, as well as some platform-sharing. And in the Autoextremist's eyes, that's all they're gonna get out of Ghosn, York and Kerkorian's talks with Wagoner. Or, all they should get. In his eyes, this is nothing short of a hostile bid, with York as the conductor and Kerkorian the cash behind the operation. Peet thinks GM can and will resist the attack, also going so far as to only allow Kerkorian to have a rep on the board that isn't Jerry York. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=186886&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[BREAKING! GM Board Calls Emergency Meeting Over Proposed Renault-Nissan Alliance]]> Automotive News just reported GM called an emergency board meeting Friday to examine Kirk Kerkorian's proposal for a GM-Renault-Nissan alliance. GM's not commenting yet. We've already ordered an LS7-powered 350Z — in our mind. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=184663&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Wagoner Strikes Back: GM Responds to Renault-Nissan Merger Talk]]> General Motors issued a "oh no you di'int" to this morning's media feeding frenzy regarding ot the recent 13-D filing that indicated Renault-Nissan's intention to buy an interest in GM:
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) has received no offer or proposal from Renault/Nissan with respect to its participating in the Renault/Nissan Alliance, as suggested in the 13-D Filing made today by the Tracinda Corporation. The Tracinda request will be taken under advisement by the GM Board of Directors. At this time, we have no further comment.
Just checking — "taken under advisement" still means "go fuck yourself," right? More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=184612&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Ghosn Crazy? Renault-Nissan Looking to Buy Minority Interest in GM]]> Automotive News is reporting GM's chief side-thorn Kirk Kerkorian — who controls 9.9% of the company's stock — is pushing a deal that would allow Renault-Nissan to buy a minority interest in General Motors. But that's not the end of it. In a letter Kerkorian wrote to Renault-Nissan CEO Carlos Ghosn and Renault Chairman Louis Schweitzer, he said he wants to explore a "three-company, partnership-based alliance." In other news, every M&A lawyer in the world just climaxed. [Thanks to Jeffrey for the tip.] [UPDATE: No comment from Renault.] More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=184575&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Autoextremist: York Won't Save GM]]> Sweet Peet D sounds off at the heads who are calling Kerkorian point-man Jerry York a savior. Interestingly, Peet and Jerry worked together on Dodge campaigns, back when pre-Autoextremist Peet was a creative director (not an assistant creative director), and DeLorenzo feels that York's not the man-in-a-storm that GM needs right now, and that he won't work to overturn GM management, nor are his damage-control PR skills enough to right the listing ship. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=155048&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Kerkorian Repurchases GM Shares After Taking Loss for 2005]]> And that, my friends is how you sweep the taxman's leg. Kirk "Miyagi" Kerkorian, billionaire financier and GM antagonist snapped up 12 million shares of GM stock in a buyback deal that happened like clockwork. Kerkorian, through his Tracinda Corporation, sold the same amount at the end of 2005 — at a capital loss — for millions of dollars in tax advantages. The new stake — seven million shares bought on the open market and five million bought in a private transaction, according to the New York Times — reportedly cost $263 million, and returns the Big K's ownership stake to just under 10%, up from 7.8% pre-rebuy. Still, with GM reporting its fourth-quarter results this morning, maybe he should have waited the extra day. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=150807&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Sell, Mortimer, Sell!!: Kerkorian Unloads Millions of GM Shares]]> Eternal corporate busybody Kirk Kerkorian has cut his stake in GM by 20 percent, selling 12 million shares and sending the stock on a downward spiral ending at a 23-year low. GM shares began yesterday 5.7 percent higher than they were at the end of the day, falling $1.20 to $19.85. Failing to score a seat on the board of directors for one of his associates, Jerome York, last week may have influenced his decision to cut his losses and run for the hills, curtailing a bid for influence many had speculated would end in a hostile takeover attempt. But Kerkorian says the sale was made to take advantage of a capital loss by year's end that could save him millions in taxes. We have a feeling this story is far from over. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=144409&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Kerkorian Eyeing a GM Board Seat?]]> The inimitable KirkKerk, swinging corporate raider and owner of 9.9% of GM stock, has been tossing the ball back and forth with the higher-ups at the automaker about taking a seat on the company's board of directors. Apparently, the seat would go to Kerkorian's #2, former Chrysler CFO Jerry York. While GM admits they're mulling over the possibility, they've stopped short of actually offering the position to York, and it's not entirely clear yet whether Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. wants the added responsibility of a board seat. It'll be interesting to see how this one plays out, as it could signal Kerkorian's intentions toward GM. More »
]]> http://jalopnik.com/index.php?op=postcommentfeed&postId=141898&view=rss&microfeed=true <![CDATA[Is Kerkorian Eyeing Volkswagen?]]> According to rumors coming out of Germany's Deutsche B rse exchange, Wall Street raider Kirk Kerkorian may be attempting to look up VW's corporate skirt. The company's stock has jumped 5.5% to a three-year high of $60.38, due to 12 million VW shares changing hands of late. According to the Guardian UK, that number amounts to four times the stock's normal daily volume. While there's no proof Kerkorian's craggy thumbprint is on the upswing, it wouldn't be the first time Mr. K inserted himself between an underperforming corporate giant and the 800-pound labor-relations gorilla reclining across its balance sheet. Others think it's horseshit; that VW's situation is too untenable for the antediluvian Kerkorian to bother with, or that he's a convenient symbol for German nationalists to spot lurking in the trees. Stay tuned. More »
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