Kerkorian buys more Ford stock

Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian has raised his stake in Ford Motor Co. to 6.49%, saying his investment company would consider throwing additional money into the struggling automaker’s turnaround effort.

Tracinda Corp. said Thursday in a regulatory filing that it purchased another 20 million Ford shares, raising its stake to 140.8 million. It previously had disclosed a 5.5% stake.

The filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission came two days after Alan Mulally, chief executive of Ford, and Executive Chairman Bill Ford met with officials from Tracinda including Kerkorian to discuss the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker’s transformation plan.

Kerkorian’s company has expressed confidence in Mulally and Ford’s management team and completed a tender offer last week to buy 20 million Ford shares for about $170 million, or $8.50 a share.

Kerkorian purchased additional shares at the market rate after the tender offer was completed, according to the SEC filing. The increased stake probably is based on economics because Kerkorian already has the ear of top Ford executives, said Mark Warnsman, an analyst with Calyon Securities.

“I don’t think he needed to do anything further to get management’s attention,” Warnsman said. “Does this signal a change in Tracinda’s strategy? I doubt it.”

When Tracinda owned 9.9% of General Motors Corp. in February 2006, Jerome York, Chrysler’s former chief financial officer and a Kerkorian advisor, was elected to the GM board. Warnsman said it’s too soon to tell whether Kerkorian would seek a Ford board seat.

Ford President of the Americas Mark Fields said Thursday that the increased stake “is an indication of confidence that we have the right plan and the right management team.”