Kerkorian bids for stake in embattled GM DETROIT (Reuters) - Financier Kirk Kerkorian made a bold bet on General Motors Corp. (GM.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) on Wednesday, offering to more than double his stake to 8.8 percent in a move that raised investor confidence in America's industrial backbone and drove U.S. stocks broadly higher. The unexpected announcement by Kerkorian's Tracinda Corp., which could pressure GM's management into speeding up a restructuring, sent the automaker's shares soaring 18 percent from their lowest levels in more than a decade. Shares in rival Ford Motor Co. (F.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) and U.S. auto parts companies also climbed. Kerkorian, who shook up the former Chrysler Corp. with a hostile takeover bid about a decade ago, will spend up to $868 million and buy as many as 28 million shares of the world's largest automaker. However, Kerkorian's lawyer said late on Wednesday that the Las Vegas casino mogul had no intention of trying to win control over GM by building up an equity stake in the company. "This is just a passive investment and there is no intent to control the company in any way," Kerkorian's lead attorney, Terry Christensen, told Reuters in a telephone interview. "It's for investment only, and we wanted to be very clear about that," said Christensen, who has known the reclusive Kerkorian for about 30 years. Christensen also ruled out a possible Kerkorian bid for a GM board seat, saying recent declines in its stock price had simply made it a good time to invest in "one of the world's great companies." "Kerkorian is saying the world is not coming to an end at General Motors -- a stroke like this gives investors and the market a lot of confidence," said Craig Hodges, fund manager at Hodges Capital Management. Kerkorian's move follows GM's $1.1 billion first-quarter loss posted last month, its worst result since it skirted bankruptcy in 1992, and management's efforts to seek concessions from its largest union for soaring health care costs. The loss sent GM's shares into a tailspin to the lowest levels since that 1992, after adjusting for the 2000 spinoff of Delphi Corp. (DPH.N: Quote , Profile , Research ) . GM continues to lose vital U.S. market share to foreign rivals and has been hit by spiraling costs for employee health care and raw materials to build vehicles, causing ratings agencies to warn they could downgrade the automaker's debt to junk status at any time. The $31-a-share tender offer price from the 87-year-old Kerkorian includes the regular quarterly dividend of 50 cents per share. The price represents about a 13.4 percent premium over GM shares' closing price Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange of $27.77, Tracinda said. HIGH STAKES     Continued ... Quelle "Kerkorian bids for stake in embattled GM" : reuters.com Main page for "Kerkorian bids for stake in embattled GM"