Kerkorian going after Chrysler

The L.A. billionaire, through his Tracinda Corp. investment vehicle, is prepared to offer $4.5 billion cash for the struggling unit of DaimlerChrysler that has, more or less, been on the block for some time. At the company's shareholders meeting in Berlin today, CEO Dieter Zetsche (the guy with the mustache in those not-so-funny commercials) confirmed the company is in talks with would-be buyers. The WSJ reports that aside from Kerkorian, the company is receiving interest from private equity firms Cerberus Capital Management LP, Blackstone Group and Centerbridge Capital Partners. What's interesting about Kerkorian's offer is that according to the WSJ, Tracinda would have the United Auto Workers and Chrysler's senior management as partners. Also, according to the Detroit News, Kerkorian will shell out $100 million to DaimlerChrysler AG for exclusive negotiating rights on the sale. You might recall that Kerkorian was Chrysler's largest shareholder in the 1990s and a key player in the decision to merge with Daimler-Benz AG in 1998. He later sued DaimlerChrysler for failing to live up to terms of the merger agreement.