Kerkorian firm to settle lawsuit

Kirk Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp. will pay $8.1 million to settle a class-action lawsuit brought by former DaimlerChrysler shareholders who claimed the billionaire investor sold shares in 1999 based on inside information.

The shareholders sued Kerkorian and his Tracinda investment company in 2003. They alleged that James Aljian, who helped manage Tracinda’s investments and served on DaimlerChrysler’s shareholder committee board, passed confidential information about the company’s declining cash flow to Kerkorian in 1999.

Tracinda then sold 7.6 million shares over a three-month period, avoiding $120 million in losses at the expense of other shareholders, according to the complaint.

Aljian, who was also named as a defendant in the case, died in 2007. As part of the settlement, the shareholders agreed to dismiss Kerkorian from the case, leaving Tracinda as the lone remaining defendant.

John Kehoe, a lawyer for the shareholders, declined to comment on the proposed settlement. Patricia Glaser, a lawyer for Kerkorian and Tracinda, didn’t immediately comment.