Court: Some Daimler Holders Owed Money

Associated Press, BERLIN GERMANY - - A German court has ruled that automaker DaimlerChrysler AG must make payments to some former shareholders of Daimler-Benz AG to settle a case stemming from its 1998 merger with Chrysler Corp., a court spokesman said Monday.

The Stuttgart state court decided the automaker must pay the 17 plaintiffs 22.15 euros ($28.42) per share to settle a dispute over the valuation of their stock, spokesman Till Jakob said.

There was no immediate information on the total value of the payout.

During the 1998 merger, 1.8 percent of Daimler-Benz shares were exchanged involuntarily for shares in the merged company.

Some shareholders claimed the exchange ratio used inaccurately valued their shares, and they launched court proceedings in 1999.

DaimlerChrysler said in its annual report earlier this year that it "continues to view the exchange ratio set at the time by the company as appropriate" and intended to "continue defending ourselves vigorously against these claims."

The merger led to several legal cases for DaimlerChrysler - most prominently, a legal battle with billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, who sought more than $1 billion.

He claimed that Daimler-Benz engineered a takeover of U.S. automaker Chrysler, then cheated him out of an acquisition premium by claiming it was a merger of equals. A Delaware court rejected his suit last year.

In 2003, the company agreed to pay $300 million to settle a $22 billion class-action lawsuit filed by other investors who claimed they were misled. DaimlerChrysler denied the charge but said it settled the case because of the risk a jury might reach a different conclusion.

DaimlerChrysler shares fell 0.5 percent to 41.19 euros ($52.84) in Frankfurt trading.