Analysts: Kerkorian could easily seize control of GM

DETROIT — Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian could seize control of General Motors Corp. easily with help from automakers Nissan and Renault.

Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp. owns 9.9 percent of GM’s shares. If Renault SA of France and Nissan Motor Co. of Japan each buy stakes of up to 10 percent, they collectively would be the largest shareholder and could have their way with the icon of American industry, analysts said on Wednesday.

With such control, the disgruntled Kerkorian could oust GM Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner and replace him with Carlos Ghosn, the chief executive of both Renault and Nissan.

“It’s certainly within the realm of possibility,” said Pete Hastings, an auto industry corporate bonds analyst with Morgan Keegan & Co. Inc. in Memphis, Tenn.

Ghosn and Kerkorian have discussed the possibility of Renault and Nissan buying a minority stake in GM and forming an alliance with the nation’s largest automaker, which is battling rising costs, fierce competition from Asian automakers and shrinking sales in the U.S. Ghosn gained a reputation as a strict cost cutter while leading the revival of Nissan.

GM is a closely held company, with six entities controlling more than 60 percent of its common stock.