CEO Calls Daimler, Chrysler Move a Success

DaimlerChrysler Chief Executive Juergen Schrempp called the 1998 combination of Daimler-Benz and Chrysler Corp. a “clear success” for the German automaker, the executive acknowledged at the end of his testimony in the trial of billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian’s lawsuit.

Members of Daimler-Benz’s supervisory board were euphoric after Schrempp wrapped up the combination with Chrysler, then the third-largest U.S. automaker, Schrempp said.

Kerkorian, once Chrysler’s largest shareholder, contends that the German executive deceived investors by calling the transaction a merger of equals that benefited both companies, rather than a takeover.

The Chrysler combination “was a clear negotiation success for Daimler-Benz,” Schrempp noted in a 1998 presentation to the company’s board. A copy of the presentation was presented to U.S. District Judge Joseph J. Farnan Jr.