Autoblog

There's no indication that a leopard has ever changed its spots, so while Kirk Kerkorian and his Tracinda Corporation are making noises like they'll strive to be hands-off Ford shareholders, we'd expect some eventual attempts at steering the automaker from the board. As part of an offer to purchase more shares, Tracinda Corp. stated to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has no intent to gobble up or influence Ford. The Las Vegas-based investment firm went on to say that it will continue to monitor the performance of its holding, and may suggest business moves to the automaker.

Jerry York apparently took this to heart when he started mouthing off about what Ford should do with Volvo and Mercury, but that statement has since been rescinded as "shooting from the hip." It would not be a surprise, given the past attempts of Kerkorian and his toadies to direct the course of General Motors and Chrysler, that he once again start to make aggressive attempts at directing the moves of Ford. Tracinda is Ford's largest shareholder, though the hierarchy of Ford's board gives the family a lot of voting muscle. Kerkorian's most recent offer to Ford is for an additional 20 million shares at $8.50 per share, as well as the future prospect of a cash infusion to offer the turnaround plan further liquidity and thus, flexibility. Ford is mulling Kerkorian's bid, but the turnaround plan was put together without Tracinda's money, and can proceed without it, though more money on hand would allow Ford to accelerate its plans. Everyone's playing it cool, though meetings between Bill Ford Jr., Alan Mulally, and Kerkorian are ongoing, and the board of directors has promised a response to Kerkorian by May 22nd.

[Source: Detroit News, Photo: Detroit News]

Kirk Kerkorian's associate Jerry York stated last Thursday that Ford would do well to sell Volvo and extinguish Mercury. Coincidentally (or not) Ford's stock zoomed up to one of the highest price levels it's seen in the last six months. Tracinda Corporation, Kerkorian's firm, has expressed faith in Mulally's leadership and his plan to strengthen the automaker. There has been speculation about a sale of Volvo in the past, and punditry has been begging the Blue Oval to do something with Mercury, or put it out of its misery, for years.

While York seems certain that Volvo will be on the market in less than two years time, Ford continues to state that the Swedish subsidiary is not for sale. Looking at the Premier Auto Group shuffle of the last year, though, it could certainly be deduced that Volvo will indeed go on the market soon. Moving the brand out of the PAG location in Irvine, CA and back to Rockleigh, NJ, where Volvo had set up shop when it first started selling cars in the United States, is a move that set off whispers of impending sale. While it might be nothing more than right-sizing office space for Volvo now that the rest of the Premier Auto Group is gone, a cross country move is a deft way to trim operational fat without layoffs, and divorcing Volvo's North American operations from Ford locations makes an ownership transition easier, too. While Ford and Volvo products share a lot of engineering and parts, a well-negotiated deal wouldn't preclude a sale that gently phases out the currently entwined platforms as they age and replacements are brought to market.

[Source: Automotive News - sub req. - Photo: Bloomberg]

The auto industry's old friend Kirk Kerkorian is back on the scene, and this time he has his sights set on Ford. In a press release issued today, Kerkorian's company Tracinda Corp. announced that it intends to buy 20 million shares of FoMoCo at $8.50 per share, which is a 13% premium over the $7.50/share at which Ford's stock closed on Friday. This would up Tracinda's ownership of Ford from 100 million shares at 4.7% to 120 million at 5.6%. In its press release, Tracinda expressed confidence in Ford's performance going forward under the leadership of Alan Mulally, and revealed that the investment firm has been watching the automaker since it surprised the industry with its Q4 2007 earnings. Last week's announcement of a better-than-expected Q1 2008 for Ford apparently sealed the deal for Kerkorian.

Kerkorian has had a tumultuous past with Ford's crosstown rivals, General Motors and Chrysler. At one time he owned nearly 10% of GM and tried to broker a deal between the world's largest automaker and Nissan-Renault that ultimately fell through, after which Kerkorian sold all of his stock in the General. He also sued DaimlerChrysler for its allegedly deceptive "merger of equals" statement back in 1998, then tried to buy Chrysler from Daimler after it was all over.

Ford has released a statement by Bill Ford, Jr. and Alan Mulally that can be read after the jump, but it basically says that the company's stock is able to be purchased by anyone, even Kirk Kerkorian. As for what the 90-year-old is up to with his bid to buy more Blue Oval stock, time will tell.

[Source: Bloggingstocks, Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty]