United States v. Tracinda Investment Corp.

477 F. Supp. 1093, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9779
District Court, C.D. California·Decided September 14, 1979·No. CV 79-0174-AAH (SX)·Published·Cited by 6 cases

Opinion

MEMORANDUM OF DECISION AND ORDER OF JUDGMENT FOR DEFENDANTS

HAUK, District Judge.

Defendant Tracinda Investment Corporation [hereinafter “Tracinda”] is a Nevada corporation, the stock of which is owned entirely by defendant Kirk Kerkorian [hereinafter “Kerkorian”] with Kerkorian serving as its only Director. Kerkorian owns approximately 6% of the outstanding common stock of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. [hereinafter MGM]. Tracinda owns approximately 42% of MGM’s common stock. Thus, Kerkorian, individually, and through Tracinda, owns approximately 48% of MGM’s common stock and is its controlling shareholder.

As of November 17, 1978, Kerkorian owned 490,700 shares of the common stock of Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., [hereinafter “Columbia”], representing approximately five percent (5%) of Columbia’s outstanding common stock. On or about December 26, 1978, Tracinda commenced a tender offer for approximately 1,750,000 shares of the common stock of Columbia, representing approximately nineteen percent (19%) of Columbia’s outstanding common stock. Tracinda’s tender offer for Columbia stock was consummated on or about January 16,1979. As a result of the tender offer and subsequent purchases, Kerkorian individually and through Tracinda now owns 2,438,700 shares of Columbia’s common stock, representing approximately twenty-five percent (25%) of Columbia’s outstanding common stock.

In January, 1979, plaintiff had originally sought a Temporary Restraining Order staying the Tracinda tender offer, alleging violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act. 15 U.S.C. § 18. 1 This Court denied that application for Temporary Restraining Or *1097 der and Motion for Preliminary Injunction, 2 but allowed plaintiff leave to amend its complaint to seek divestiture of the Columbia stock held by Tracinda. Plaintiff did amend its complaint to seek divestiture, still basing this action upon an alleged violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act.

Court trial in this action commenced on August 1, 1979, and ended August 14, 1979. Having heard the testimony of the witnesses, having read the pleadings and all relevant papers in support of and in opposition to this action, having reviewed the evidence presented in this action and having heard from counsel for plaintiff and counsel for defendants, this court now enters its Memorandum of Decision and Order for Judgment, which shall constitute its findings of fact and conclusions of law herein pursuant to Rule 52(a), F.R.Civ.P.

NON-CORPORATE DEFENDANT

Plaintiff’s First Amended Complaint names as defendants herein Tracinda and Kerkorian. The prayer of that complaint asks this Court to adjudge the acquisition of Columbia stock by Kerkorian and Tracinda to be in violation of Section 7 of the Clayton Act and to order Kerkorian and Tracinda to divest themselves of their stock in Columbia. Since Section 7 of the Clayton Act only extends to acquisitions made by corporations, Hudson Valley Asbestos Corporation v. Tougher Heating & Plumbing Co., Inc., 510 F.2d 1140, 1145 (2d Cir. 1975); GAF Corporation v. Circle Floor Co., 329 F.Supp. 823, 829 (S.D.N.Y.1971), aff’d 463 F.2d 752 (2d Cir. 1972), cert. dismissed 413 U.S. 901, 93 S.Ct. 3058, 37 L.Ed.2d 1045 (1973), the first question to be confronted by this Court is whether plaintiff may properly seek divestiture under Section 7 of the Clayton Act of the Columbia stock personally purchased and owned by Kerkorian.

A corporation may be found to be in violation of Section 7 where the stockholders made purchases on behalf of the corporation. GAF Corporation v. Circus Floor Co., supra. This case, however, does not present such a situation. Plaintiff did not allege, nor was there any evidence presented, that Kerkorian acquired any Columbia stock on behalf of Tracinda or any other corporation or that his personal acquisitions are otherwise attributable to Tracinda or any other corporation. Moreover, in its complaint, plaintiff only alleges the 19% acquisition by Tracinda to be a violation of Section 7 and is silent in this respect upon the acquisitions by Kerkorian. 3 Accordingly, plaintiff has not stated sufficient facts, nor presented evidence, upon which relief may be granted against defendant Kerkorian and, in respect to this defendant, the complaint is hereby dismissed for lack of jurisdiction. Thus this action may be properly maintained only for divestiture of the 19% of Columbia stock acquired by Tracinda.

Even if the personal acquisitions by Kerkorian were properly before this Court, since each of the findings of fact and conclusions of law reached by this Court and contained herein apply equally to Tracinda and to Kerkorian, this Court must neverthe *1098 less order judgment in favor of Kerkorian as well as Tracinda. Thus the findings and conclusions set forth below apply and cover both defendants in this action.

INVESTMENT EXEMPTION

Section 7 of the Clayton Act does not condemn every acquisition that may result in the prohibited anticompetitive consequences. An acquisition may escape a challenge under Section 7, even though it may be in violation of the section’s substantive provisions, if it falls within the specific exemptions provided for in Section 7, one of which provides that acquisitions of stock where the acquisition is made solely for purposes of investment are not included in the prohibition of Section 7. 4 2 Von Kalinowski, Antitrust Laws and Trade Regulations § 15.03. Furthermore, it is necessary to make a clear distinction between an exemption and a defense. 7 Von Kalinowski, supra., § 44.01(2). Some courts have made this distinction, noting that this provision constitutes an exemption rather than a defense, United States v. du Pont & Co., 353 U.S. 586, 589, 77 S.Ct. 872, 1 L.Ed.2d 1057 (1957); Anaconda Co. v. Crane Co., 411 F.Supp. 1210,1218 (S.D.N.Y.1975), while another Court has failed to make this distinction, Gulf & Western Indus., Inc. v. Great A. & P. Tea Co., Inc., 476 F.2d 687, 693 (2d Cir. 1973). In view of the specific language of this section it would appear that the former cases are correct.

Once a defendant has demonstrated to the Court that a stock purchase was solely for investment, then the burden is upon the plaintiff to prove that the defendant is not covered by the investment exemption. As stated in Anaconda Co. v. Crane Co., 411 F.Supp. 1210, 1219 (S.D.N.Y. 1975):

In cases where the “solely for investment” exemption does not apply, a plaintiff need only show a reasonable probability of a lessening of competition. .

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United States v. Tracinda Investment Corp., 477 F. Supp. 1093, 1979 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9779 (C.D. Cal. 1979).

477 F. Supp. 1093 (United States v. Tracinda Investment Corp.) — published by Counsel Stack Legal Research, free access to 12M+ legal documents.

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