AP: Kerkorian to Sell 14 Million GM Shares

[Roland99]

Kerkorian Says He Plans to Sell 14 Million GM Shares for About $462M and Buy MGM Stock
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061122/gm_kerkorian.html?.v=29

DETROIT (AP) -- Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian may have decided that casinos are a better bet than cars. The dissident General Motors Corp. shareholder said Wednesday that he will slash his stake in the troubled automaker by selling 14 million shares for about $462 million.

The sale, announced in a regulatory filing, came on the same day that Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. announced plans to offer about $825 million for up to 15 million shares of MGM Mirage Inc. The transaction, at $55 per share, would boost Kerkorian's stake in the ownership of the Bellagio in Las Vegas and other casinos to more than 60 percent.

In the GM filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tracinda said it had agreed on Monday to sell the shares at $33 each in a private transaction. The agreement will close on Friday, the filing said.

Kerkorian now owns 56 million shares, or 9.9 percent of GM, according to the LionShares.com financial Web site. The sale would reduce his stake to 42 million, or 7.4 percent of the company's 565.5 million outstanding shares.

That's gonna leave a mark.

[JNelson6563]

1. Uh-oh.

That's gonna hurt. Leave a mark even. :scared:

Julie--here in MI where we really feel the effects of such things

[Roland99]

2. Wonder if I'll see flags at half-mast as I drive thru Detroit Fri....

[acmavm]

3. Thank goodness the guy is dumping while the dumping is good.

Hell, would hate to think that some rich bastard would think he owes something to the country, and the people in it, that he should maybe not drive down the price of the stock and flood the markets. I mean, will he be pauperized otherwise?

It's only the poor and middle classes that have to have their patriotism and duty thrown in their faces day after day. The rich only have a duty to themselves and thier bank balances.

[LongTomH]

4. He'll probably move his investments into Asian stocks...........

............along with the rest of the uber-rich traitors!:grr:

[lithiumbomb]

5. his involvement was not going to help GM

Kerkorian bought enough shares in GM to get his representative seat on the board. GM is having its problems, but does have a recovery plan in the works and some hopefully good products in the pipeline. Kerkorian wanted to accelerate GM's recovery with all the grace of a sledge hammer, and forced GM into talks with Nissan/Renault on a joint venture against their will. For that to work, Nissan/Renault would have to have something to offer GM, and really they don't. GM spent about a month or so in talks with Nissan/Renault but eventually decided that no joint ventures would be beneficial to them. Kerkorian got mad, or gave up, and is now selling his shares. He basically tried to take over the company, and failed. The fallout from his involvement with DaimlerChrysler years before is still in the courts, IIRC. His goal, IMO, was to get GM to merge with Nissan (or perhaps another automaker), he would make a lot of money, and move on. Whether such a merger was useful to anyone or not was beside the point.

[durtee librul]

6. Well.....

Rumor has it, he is interested in Chrysler again as there is talk of spinning off the car arm of Daimler.