Kirk Kerkorian — the man who is trying to acquire an additional 20 million shares of Ford — may have taken an active role while he was an investor at General Motors and Chrysler , but the billionaire investor says he will take a hands-off approach with Ford . Kerkorian’s company — Tracinda Corp. — currently owns 100 million Ford shares.
The bump to 120 million shares will increase Tracinda’s stake to 5.6 percent ownership of Ford, which is usually good enough for a voice in the board room. However, Tracinda said in a filing that it has no intentions of influencing Ford’s business decisions. There is no “present intent to acquire or influence control over Ford,” Tracinda said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. “We are making the offer because we believe Ford is an attractive investment.”
However, in the same filing, Tracinda also said that it would closely monitor Ford ’s performance and could suggest strategies from time to time. The company also indicated that it might also increase its Ford ownership in the future, according to The Detroit News.
Kerkorian also revealed that he has already explored the possibility of infusing the company with more cash to speed up its North American turnaround.
Ford’s board of directors is currently considering Kerkorian’s offer to purchase 20 million shares and will give him an answer by May 22.
