Back in April, Kirk Kerkorian claimed he wanted to buy an extra 20 million shares of Ford Motor Co. That would have given him a total of 120 million shares and 5.6% of the Dearborn-based automaker. We learn today that Kerkorian took advantage of the demand for his offer of $8.50 per share and bought more than twice the amount of shares he originally intended. Tracinda Corp., Kerkorian's investment company, now owns 140.8 million shares of FoMoCo and a 6.49% stake in the automaker. He also now has a full $1 billion invested in the Dearborn automaker and has made it known that he is behind Ford's turnaround effort. This increased investment is surely putting your money where your mouth is.
The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission hints that Kerkorian might sink more funds into Ford in order to save its money-losing U.S. operations. Kerkorian will also likely be in a position where he feels comfortable suggesting business strategies to get Ford back in the black. That could make him what they call an activist investor, a title Kerkorian's held at Chrysler and GM in the past. So much for those theories that he might remain hands-off.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally, Executive Chairman Bill Ford and Kerkorian just met a couple of days ago to talk about Ford's turnaround plan. Now that Kerkorian owns more of FoMoCo than the Ford family itself who owns just 3%, some might be scared by the quick move Tracinda has made. Never fear for the Ford family, however, as their minor stake is comprised of a special class of stock that gives them 40 percent of the voting power.
[Source: Automotive News, sub req, Photo by KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty]
Despite the rumors of contentiousness surrounding Kirk Kerkorian's Tracinda Corporation and its agitation in Dearborn, Ford reports that a recent talk between Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr., CEO Alan Mulally, and the investment firm were informal and positive. Never a shrinking violet, 91-year-old Kirk Kerkorian has held large stakes of each of the Detroit 3 in the past. Tracinda's most recent foray into Ford's stock coincides with a shift by the Blue Oval away from its historically strong grounding in truck sales. Ford believes that the truck sales balloon has permanently deflated, and is idling plants and shifting production over to more fuel efficient vehicles as crude oil prices continue to ratchet up an economic squeeze.
Ford's already said "forget it" to a planned return to profitability in 2009, and its talks with Tracinda illustrate that Ford realizes it may not have the lock on better ideas. On the agenda at this particular meeting was an analysis of publicaly-announced details of "The Way Forward." Right now both Ford and Tracinda are coming away from the table repeating niceties, but if history is any guide, at some point Captain Kirk might start instigating in ways that are less than popular.
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.
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.
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]
Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian announced today that his investment firm Tracinda Corp. had cut its stake in General Motors from 9.9% to 7.4% by selling $462 million worth of the automaker's stock. That amounts to a sell off of 14 million shares at $33 per share.
The move by Kerkorian comes after the soap opera-like events surrounding a proposed alliance between General Motors and Nissan/Renault that ultimately fell through despite Kerkorian's support. In fact, Kerkorian and the man he placed on GM's board, Jerry York, were the ones who proposed the alliance and approached Nissan/Renault without the board's knowledge. Many postulate that GM CEO Rick Wagoner didn't appreciate the surreptitious move that usurped his power and he therefore made sure the proposal was shot down. A committee chosen by Wagoner was set up to evaluate the alliance and found that the proposed alliance would benefit Nissan/Renault more than it would GM. For its part, Nissan/Renault was unwilling to pay a large sum of money that numbered in the hundreds of millions, which GM proposed would even out the partnership. On account of the failed alliance, Jerry York resigned from GM's board on October 6th.
Who knows what goes on in the mind of Kirk Kerkorian, but knowing what we know about GM's product lineup stretching out through 2010, we'd have to say that selling his stake in the company is a move that will probably lose money in the long run. We're not financial analysts by any means, but GM's turnaround has just started the back nine and will bear fruit in the form of profits before the end of 2008. Or so says our Magic 8-Ball.
Rick said it; General Motors does not need a partner to complete its recovery. According to an interview with Wagoner by Automotive News, the CEO of GM thinks 'It's not logical or responsible to say we must have a partner to recover.' GM is currently studying whether it will allow billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian to bring the General into a permanent alliance with Nissan and Renault. Wagoner's interest in any venture, simply put, is about selling more vehicles. As for any new deal with Ford, Wagoner says "who knows?
Let's face it, Nissan and Renault are small potatoes compared to GM. Wagoner is pretty confident that they can turn around their fortunes in North America. The past three months have seen an increase in sales over last year, and GM has introduced many new vehicles and there are still many more in the channel ready to hit the road next year. And Kerkorian is really just trying to make a buck. As for the GM-Ford deal, if Wagoner says something like 'who knows?,' you better believe it's not going to happen. He's never going to come out and say, 'heck no!' Why not stoke the fire of speculation even more?
Bottom line, Rick is pretty confident that his ship is turning around. The crew at GM knows that it won't be easy sailing for the next couple years, and they are hoping the new product will put the wind in their sails (sales). We're starting to think Tracinda should have taken aim at Ford, at least Kirk could've bought more share for his money.
Kirk Kerkorian may buy up to 12 million additional shares of GM stock, according to Automotive News. The billionaire investor would need approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission for the deal because it would send his company, Tracinda Corporation, well over 10 percent ownership of GM common stock.
The move supports GM's potential alliance with Renault/Nissan, a merger that Kerkorian has battled for from the beginning. Officially, Tracinda said this in the filing with the SEC:
"Tracinda continues to believe that a strong opportunity exists in a potential alliance between General Motors, Renault and Nissan and that there should be strong General Motors board involvement in the analysis of such a potential alliance, including the utilization of independent advisors."
We're interested to see what power this gives Kerkorian and right-hand man Jerry York, whom Kerkorian has placed onto GM's board of directors.
Kirk Kerkorian may have found a way to get Carlos Ghosn to work for General Motors -- merge Nissan/Renault with GM.
The billionaire investor and head of Tracinda Corp., a GM shareholder to the tune of 9.9 percent, sent GM chief Rick Wagoner a letter proposing "that General Motors' Board of Directors establish a committee to immediately and fully explore, together with management, a possible opportunity to join the partnership-alliance between Renault, S.A. and Nissan Motor Co., Ltd." In a filing, Tracinda also indicated that it had been in contact with Ghosn regarding Nissan/Renault's interest in taking a minority stake in GM.
Saab and HUMMER won't be hitting the Orphan Car Show anytime soon, says Rick Wagoner. General Motors' top guy told shareholders yesterday that the company won't be taking the advice of new board member Jerry York, billionaire investor/GM stakeholder Kirk Kerkorian's right-hand man. York made waves in the industry just before he joined the board, when he gave a speech suggesting that GM axe the Saab and HUMMER brands, among other suggestions.
The news also means that York and GM management haven't managed to come to an agreement about branding strategy for the company, but it might be a good thing afterall -- HUMMER was one of the stars of April and May sales, and Saab's realignment alongside Opel might deserve a chance before the marque is cut. Of course, there's always GMC and Buick, but perhaps there are other ways to redefine these brands.
[Source: Reuters via Automotive News; Hummer; TheTruthAboutCars.com]
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. 
Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian announced today that his investment firm Tracinda Corp. had cut its stake in General Motors from 9.9% to 7.4% by selling $462 million worth of the automaker's stock. That amounts to a sell off of 14 million shares at $33 per share. 
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