Kerkorian Wants a Bigger Role at Chrysler

Reclusive takeover investor Kirk Kerkorian indicated Friday that he wants a more active role in Chrysler Corp. following Lee A. Iacocca’s retirement as chairman of the No. 3 auto maker at the end of 1992.

“Recent events have made me concerned about Mr. Iacocca’s continued leadership role in the company,” Kerkorian, who owns 9.8% of Chrysler’s common stock, said in a letter to the board.

The letter, disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, requested a meeting with the board about greater shareholder representation, which seemed to suggest he might want a seat.

It was one of the few utterances about Chrysler from Kerkorian since he acquired his stake in the company a few years ago. But Kerkorian’s aides would not specify what he wanted.

Gene Shutler, counsel to Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp., through which he owns the Chrysler stock, said in a telephone interview that Kerkorian’s concerns were “what role after his retirement Mr. Iacocca will play in Chrysler.”

“He’s concerned that it appears Iacocca’s gone,” said Kerkorian’s Los Angeles spokesman, Jim Mahoney. “I think that he feels that maybe without Iacocca, he (Kerkorian) would rather be more involved.”

As previously announced, Iacocca, 67, will be replaced Jan. 1 by Robert Eaton, who left as president of the European division of General Motors Corp. last spring to join Chrysler. Iacocca has said he will remain active on the Chrysler board.

Last week, Chrysler said it earned $178 million in the second quarter on strong sales and lower costs, a sharp turnaround from its $212-million loss the year before.

Iacocca said he was flattered by Kerkorian’s concerns over his retirement but that his plans were unchanged.

“I have complete confidence in the management team at Chrysler, and Mr. Kerkorian told me that he shares that confidence,” Iacocca said in a statement.

In New York Stock Exchange trading, Chrysler shares fell 75 cents to close at $20.625.

Kerkorian bought 22 million shares of Chrysler stock for $272 million in 1990. He said at the time the buy was for investment purposes and ignored pleas from Iacocca that he promise to limit his stake to less than 10%.