Kerkorian Sues DaimlerChrysler for $9B

Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian filed suit Monday against DaimlerChrysler (DCX) for more than $9 billion, saying the giant German vehicle manufacturer deceived shareholders when it bought Chrysler Corp. in 1998, news services reported.

aimler’s sprawling operations include the big-truck maker Freightliner and other truck units, as well as passenger cars. On Nov. 17, Daimler replaced Chrysler president James Holden with Dieter Zetsche, who had previously overseen truck operations, and vowed to restructure Chrysler.

report carried by MSNBC, compiled with reports from the Associated Press and Reuters, said Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp. filed the suit in Delaware that accuses Daimler-Benz executives of making “false representations” that its planned combination with Chrysler would be “a merger of equals.”

table width=110 align=right border=0>Tracinda said the suit seeks to unwind the merger and recover damages, MSNBC reported, and that Tracinda would not have voted in favor if the deal had been presented as an acquisition of Chrysler by Daimler. Kerkorian had tried to buy Chrysler in a 1995 unsolicited bid, MSNBC added, and was Chrysler’s largest shareholder before the deal. He is now DaimlerChrysler’s third-largest shareholder with about a 4% stake.