Ford Mulls Options to Purchase of Budget

Ford Motor Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Alex Trotman said the company is exploring its options in case its proposed purchase of Budget Rent a Car Corp. runs into antitrust problems. The acquisition has come under scrutiny by officials at the Federal Trade Commission over whether the deal would give Ford too much control of the rental car market. Ford already owns Hertz Corp., the top-ranked car rental company. Trotman said that while the No. 2 auto maker company is continuing to discuss the Budget purchase with federal regulators, Ford is studying other options as well. Although Trotman declined to say what the company’s other options were, speculation has centered on the possibility that Ford might sell some of the preferred nonvoting stock it already owns in Budget.