Ford may be considering sale of Mazda stake

Alex Nunez — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:08:00 EST

Filed under: Ford, Mazda, Earnings/Financials, Rumormill

The financial peril that currently faces the U.S. domestic automakers is no secret, and according to Wall Street Journal report published yesterday, Ford is mulling over the possibility of unloading at least part of its controlling stake in Mazda to raise cash. Japanese media, via the AP, said that Ford would likely keep some interests in the Japanese automaker after such a move -- no surprise when you consider how closely tied Ford and Madza are right now in terms of shared technology. The Oval's third-quarter numbers are expected to be pretty ugly, and the Journal's source said that the potential sale of its Mazda holdings is one of many moves reportedly under consideration as Dearborn looks for ways to add to its cash on hand. For its part, Mazda denies that any decision has been made (a non-denial, really -- no outlets reported that a deal had yet been completed) and Ford weighed in with a to-be-expected "no comment." As they say, to be continued...

[Sources: The Wall Street Journal, AP]

Ford may be considering sale of Mazda stake originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 12 Oct 2008 11:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Analysts: Ford could sell Mazda to raise capital

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:01:00 EST

Filed under: Ford, Mazda, Earnings/Financials

Ford's 33.9-percent stake in Mazda, enough to give the Blue Oval control of the Japanese automaker, could come up for grabs if Ford is not able to turn its dire financial position around in short order, according to BusinessWeek. Such a move would likely cause major headaches at both automakers, as the two jointly develop many of their products and combine research and development costs between themselves. In fact, many of Ford's best and most important cars in the U.S. are built atop Mazda's midsize sedan platform. What's more, the cash infusion of Mazda's sale would only net Ford around $2.5 billion, barely more than what the automaker received for its stake in Jaguar and Land Rover. That amount would only allow Ford to stretch a little while longer without returning to profitability. In other words, it would hardly be worth the trouble and is therefore, we're hoping, rather unlikely.

[Source: BusinessWeek]

Analysts: Ford could sell Mazda to raise capital originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Aug 2008 17:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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