Kerkorian to bid for big stake in GM DETROIT (Reuters) - Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian's investment company on Wednesday offered to buy a large minority stake in General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) at a premium to the struggling automaker's depressed stock price. The announcement from Tracinda Corp., which said it would spend up to $868 million to buy as many as 28 million GM shares, boosted GM's stock more than 9 percent and helped turn the broader market higher. The $31-a-share offer price, including the regular quarterly dividend of 50 cents per share, represents about a 13.4 percent premium over GM shares' closing price Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange of $27.77, Tracinda, which is owned by Kerkorian, said in a statement. Tracinda, which already owns 22 million GM shares, said it would hold the common stock in GM, which last month reported its biggest quarterly loss since skirting bankruptcy 13 years ago, for investment purposes. Upon completion of the offer, Tracinda would own 50 million shares of the world's largest automaker, or about 8.8 percent of the outstanding shares. "This is a bit of a shot in the dark for Tracinda," said Tim Ghirskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management, which holds some short-term GM debt. "It is a bit of wishful thinking that, at this point, GM is going to have a significant move up in stock price or they are going to be able to influence the board to change how this company is being run," Ghirsky added. GM spokeswoman Toni Simonetti said the company had no immediate comment on the tender offer. GM shares rose $2.66, or 9.58 percent, to $30.43 in morning New York Stock Exchange trading. The news also lifted auto stocks worldwide. Rival Ford Motor Co. (GM.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) rose 3.3 percent to $9.78, while DaimlerChrysler (DCX.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) (DCXGn.DE: Quote , Profile , Research ) shares were up 2.3 percent at $40.23 in early trading. Tracinda said it became aware of rumors over the weekend concerning its possible purchase of GM shares and it decided to go forward with the tender offer to remove any uncertainty in the marketplace. Kerkorian, a Las Vegas casino mogul, was the largest investor in automaker Chrysler before its link up with Germany's Daimler-Benz in 1998. He is currently appealing a court ruling that dismissed his $1 billion lawsuit over the handling of the deal that created DaimlerChrysler, the world's fifth-largest automaker. Kerkorian accuses German auto boss Juergen Schrempp, who orchestrated one of the biggest deals in automotive history, of having misrepresented it as a merger rather than a takeover.     Continued ... Quelle "Kerkorian to bid for big stake in GM" : reuters.com Main page for "Kerkorian to bid for big stake in GM"