NEWS
Sunday, December 28, 2003
"In 1998, both sides -- Daimler-Benz executives in Stuttgart, Germany, and Chrysler executives in Auburn Hills, Mich. -- famously labeled the deal a ``merger of equals,'' a gauzy term without legal definition.Kirk Kerkorian, the 86-year-old Las Vegas casino mogul who was Chrysler's top shareholder at the time of the merger, is suing DaimlerChrysler. He contends that the deal was fraudulently labeled a merger when it was actually envisioned as a takeover from the start by Schrempp, Daimler-Benz's chief executive, and the rest of his management team. ...
But Kerkorian is looking at a different Mack truck: the collapse of DaimlerChrysler stock, from nearly $108 in early 1999 to under $27 last March. Shares closed at $45.91, which was a new 52-week high, on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
His suit was prompted by a 2000 interview in The Financial Times of London, in which Schrempp said he had intended all along to relegate Chrysler to a division of the parent company and had used the term ``merger of equals'' only for ``psychological'' reasons.... "
> From: Daimler deal may not have been a merger
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Posted by Rob at 1:30 PM
