Kerkorian Says He Plans to Sell 14 Million GM Shares for About $462M and Buy MGM Stock
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/061122/gm_kerkorian.html?.v=29DETROIT (AP) -- Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian may have decided that casinos are a better bet than cars. The dissident General Motors Corp. shareholder said Wednesday that he will slash his stake in the troubled automaker by selling 14 million shares for about $462 million.
The sale, announced in a regulatory filing, came on the same day that Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp. announced plans to offer about $825 million for up to 15 million shares of MGM Mirage Inc. The transaction, at $55 per share, would boost Kerkorian's stake in the ownership of the Bellagio in Las Vegas and other casinos to more than 60 percent.
In the GM filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Tracinda said it had agreed on Monday to sell the shares at $33 each in a private transaction. The agreement will close on Friday, the filing said.
Kerkorian now owns 56 million shares, or 9.9 percent of GM, according to the LionShares.com financial Web site. The sale would reduce his stake to 42 million, or 7.4 percent of the company's 565.5 million outstanding shares.
That's gonna leave a mark.