In its "
Overheard" column, The Wall Street Journal pokes fun at 90-year-old billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian in Friday's edition, saying Tracinda Corp.'s would-be investment in San Antonio refiner Tesoro Corp., which resisted his advances last year, would have landed him a loss roughly double that of the $715 million bath he's taken on Ford Motor Co. The Journal reports he now sees "unique value" in gambling and energy stocks.
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However, his track record on energy hasn't been so good. Tracinda agreed on New Year's Eve of last year to purchase 36 million shares, or 35%, of Denver oil and gas explorer Delta Petroleum Corp. at $19 per share -- a 23% premium over the stock's closing price the previous trading day. After the news broke, Delta's stock jumped 22% to close at $18.85. Delta's recent price? It closed at $8.17 on Thursday and dropped another 10% on Friday to $7.32. That's a $421 million loss on paper. Will Kerkorian scale back on Delta, as he did on Ford? Or buy more? It's something to watch. - Claire Poole
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Claire Poole is The Deal's energy reporter.
