It's Crunch Time, Bob

摘要

Forget the super bowl. In the motor City, where the Lions' season ended weeks ago, the real spectator sport is watching the mudslinging at Chrysler Corp. It's been quiet lately, but now the real battle for control of the automaker is about to begin. To recap, Kirk Kerkorian, Chrysler's largest individual stockholder, with a nearly 15 percent stake, has waged war on the company since last April. First came an abortive takeover bid. Since then Kerkorian's chief aide, former Chrysler exec Jerry York, has kept up the pressure, crisscrossing the country to rail against Chrysler chairman Robert Eaton in presentations to investors. His goal: to goad Chrysler into making moves he says will increase its stock price. Eaton brushes off the war of words as just "a distraction," but it's clearly taking its toll—and everyone believes he has to deal with the dissidents soon. "Every day they spend defending themselves from Kerkorian is a day they don't spend making themselves a better carmaker," says former Chrysler finance chief Robert S. Miller.