Antonini Quits Board at Chrysler : Autos: Former Kmart chief says he doesn’t want to be an issue between the car maker and Kerkorian.
Former Kmart Corp. Chairman Joseph Antonini resigned from Chrysler Corp.’s board Wednesday, less than two days after he was targeted for ouster by dissident shareholder Kirk Kerkorian.
In a statement, Antonini said he did not want to be “an issue in the controversy” between the auto maker and its second-largest shareholder.
“I feel I would do a disservice to [Chrysler and other directors] by remaining on the board and taking any focus away from the very tough business of selling cars,” he said.
Kerkorian, a billionaire and gambling industry mogul, said Monday that he wanted Chrysler to replace Antonini with Jerome B. York, a former Chrysler finance chief who now is vice chairman of Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp.
Kerkorian has spent much of the year pushing to gain greater control over Chrysler, saying he wants to enhance the company’s value to its shareholders.
He failed in a takeover attempt last spring but has continued to protest the company’s goal of socking away $7.5 billion, a cash cushion Chrysler says it needs to operate smoothly during the auto industry’s next downturn. Kerkorian contends shareholders should share more of the company’s wealth.
Antonini, a member of the Chrysler board since 1989, left Kmart in March under pressure from a board and shareholders dissatisfied with his efforts to turn around the discount retailer.
Chrysler’s policy is to require outside directors who lose or change their jobs to offer to resign. The board then reviews whether they should continue as members.
Antonini’s resignation Wednesday was his own decision and was not at Chrysler’s request, company spokesman Steven J. Harris said.
The board could replace him immediately, but it is unlikely to.
Harris said a decision will probably evolve from a 90-day review of the company’s corporate governance policies. That review, announced Nov. 2, was a response to Kerkorian proposals, which included a board seat for York and Kerkorian veto power over two other seats.
Chrysler officials have suggested that York might not be a good board member because his allegiance is to Kerkorian, not Chrysler shareholders. Burnham Securities analyst David Healy said it is unlikely York would be Chrysler’s choice to replace Antonini.
“I think their strategy on Kerkorian is that they’ve given up trying to appease him,” Healy said.
Tracinda spokesman Michael Claes had no comment on Wednesday’s developments.
Kerkorian and his associates, including former Chrysler Chairman Lee Iacocca, control nearly 54 million shares of Chrysler stock, about 14.1% of the company. FMR Corp., the parent of the mutual fund company Fidelity Investments, owns 55.1 million shares.
In documents filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Kerkorian outlined several proposals, including the election of York, which he may place on the agenda of Chrysler’s annual shareholders meeting next spring.
