DaimlerChrysler Wins Kerkorian Court Case

Auto giant DaimlerChrysler AG said in a statement Thursday it had won a legal battle against disgruntled casino billionaire Kirk Kerkorian related to the 1998 Daimler-Chrysler merger. "We are pleased that the court's decision confirms, once and for all, that the Tracinda case lacked any merit and that all claims against DaimlerChrysler relating to the 1998 merger were completely baseless," Jurgen Schrempp, chairman of DaimlerChrysler's management board, said in a statement. Kerkorian, a Las Vegas casino magnate, had filed a $1.2 billion-lawsuit against the German automaker in the eastern state of Delaware accusing Daimler-Benz of engineering a takeover, not a merger. The suit against the German auto group was brought by Kerkorian's investment arm Tracinda Corp. Kerkorian believes he and other shareholders should have received handsome premiums on their Chrsyler holdings, of as much as 62 percent, but that he was denied a premium because DaimlerChrysler billed the deal as a merger. The tycoon was the largest Chrysler shareholder at the time of the 1998 deal. The case was heard by US District Judge Joseph Farnan in Delaware. "We will continue to concentrate our efforts on making this merger a great success by implementing our strategy and optimizing
our operations in the US, in Germany and around the globe. "We at DaimlerChrysler remain committed to creating value for all of our shareholders." Schrempp added. (AFP)