DaimlerChrysler Trial over Merger Starts

A high-profile trial over the DaimlerChrysler merger opened in the United States on Monday. According to the German news agency DPA, U.S. investor Kirk Kerkorian is demanding over $1 billion (€835 million) in damages because he believes DaimlerChrysler CEO Jürgen Schrempp misled investors during the 1998 merger between the German and American carmakers. Sold as a “merger of equals,” the deal essentially amounted to a German takeover of Chrysler. Kerkorian owned 13.7 percent of Chrysler Corp. before the $36 billion merger with Daimler-Benz, according to Reuters. The combined company has lost two-thirds of its market value since the deal was announced.