On the heels of Ford’s strong first quarter, Kirk Kerkorian — a perpetual investor in the auto industry — has announced he plans to up his stake in the Blue Oval by 20 million shares. Kerkorian’s company, Tracinda Corp., currently owns 100 million shares in Ford — representing a 4.7 percent stake — but the bump to 120 million shares will increase Tracinda’s stake to 5.6 percent.
Kerkorian is no stranger to the Big 3. Before Chrysler ’s sale to Daimler, Kerkorian was the Michigan-based automaker’s largest shareholder.
Kerkorian was also the driving force between General Motor’s talks with Nissan . At one time, Kerkorian owned a 10 percent stake in GM.
It remains unclear why Kerkorian feels it is the right time to invest in Ford — considering the slumping market and looming CAFE standards — but the 90 year old billionaire no doubt has something up his sleeve.
