Kerkorian cashes out
MGM Mirage majority shareholder Kirk Kerkorian has dumped his remaining
shares of Ford Motor Co. today, a move that he began in October.
It’s hard to imagine that Kerkorian, a 91-year-old billionaire from Los
Angeles, will stay away from the auto industry for long.
Along with airlines, movie studios and gaming, the auto industry has long
held Kerkorian’s fascination.
Before making a run at Ford in April, when he spent more than $1 billion to
take a 6.5 percent stake in the company, Kerkorian had owned pieces of all
the big three automakers.
In the 1990s, he bought a large chunk of the Chrysler Corp., but sold the
stock after launching a failed hostile tender offer.
In 2005 and 2006, Kerkorian made moves on General Motors Corp., becoming
the automaker’s largest shareholder before cashing out altogether in
December 2006. In April 2007, Kerkorian made one last stab at Chrysler
Corp., offering $4.5 billion. The bid failed.