Agence France Presse
Dec 30 2008
US billionaire investor Kerkorian dumps Ford stake: report
DETROIT (AFP) ‘ US billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian, who had once
pledged his support and confidence in Ford Motor Co., has sold all of
his remaining shares in the automaker, Dow Jones Newswires reported
Monday.
Kerkorian’s holding group Tracinda Corp. no longer owns any shares in
Ford, a Tracinda spokesperson told the news agency Monday.
Tracinda was not immediately available to comment on the report.
Tracinda sold 7.3 million shares of Ford common stock in October for
an average price of 2.43 dollars per share — representing a huge loss
for Kerkorian — and said it was considering divesting its entire
stake through the end of the year.
Tracinda had about 133.5 million shares remaining, or a 6.09 percent
stake, in the loss-making automaker.
Ford shares on Monday plunged 5.2 percent to 2.17 dollars in late
afternoon Wall Street trade following the report. The share has lost
about two-thirds of its value in a year.
Kerkorian accumulated a 6.5 percent stake in the Dearborn,
Michigan-based Ford earlier this year and continued to boost his
stake. He announced in June that he would pay 8.50 dollars to buy an
additional 20 million shares.
The investor, who made a fortune from running and selling Las Vegas
casinos, bought the shares in Ford after referring at the time to
"meaningful traction in its turnaround efforts."
At the time, Ford managers said they were on track to deliver
profitability in 2009 — an objective that has now been shelved.
Since then, the cash-strapped Detroit giant has struggled with falling
auto sales amid a deepening US recession and tight credit conditions
blamed for exacerbating the downturn.
Ford said on December 19 that a comprehensive restructuring plan it
presented to Congress would allow it to return to profitability by
2011.