Kirk Kerkorian Sells Ford Shares

Robert Farago
by Robert Farago

Automotive News [sub] reports that billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian has sold part of his 6.5 percent stake in Ford Motor Co. and could sell the rest before this blog hits the net. This according to spokesfolk for Kerkorian’s investment “vehicle” Tracinda Corp. “Tracinda, which has invested about $1 billion in Ford, said in regulatory filings it sold 7.3 million Ford shares on Monday in the open market for an average price of $2.43 per share. Tracinda intends to further reduce its holdings, including the possible sale of all of its remaining 133.5 million shares, or about a 6.09 percent stake, depending on market conditions and available sales prices.” Hang on; is this the same Captain Kirk who offered a cash infusion to FoMoCo in June? The same Lion of Las Vegas who, according to last Friday’s Bloomberg report, “pledged another 50 million MGM shares to back the $600 million Bank of America Corp. credit line he used to buy into the second-largest U.S. automaker?” Yup. There’s at least one analyst and an investor with a massive egg on their respective faces…

The pledging of additional MGM shares “indicates Tracinda’s desire to hold on to its Ford investment in the face of a potential margin call,” said analyst Brian Johnson at Barclays Capital in Chicago, before the weekend. “I would be concerned if he got out.” Bernie McGinn, of McGinn Investment Management in Alexandria, Virginia (which owns some 325k Ford shares) previously pronounced. ‘I’m hoping to see Kerkorian not flush his Ford position. It’s a continued vote of confidence.'”

Does this mean KK thinks Ford’s doomed? “Tracinda Corporation… sees unique value in the gaming and hospitality and oil and gas industries and has, therefore, decided to reallocate its resources and to focus on those industries.” So, yes.

Robert Farago
Robert Farago

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  • Rpol35 Rpol35 on Oct 21, 2008

    This jacka$$ needs to see Warren Buffet for "Investments 101", you're supposed to buy low & sell high, not buy low and sell lower!

  • Anonymous Anonymous on Oct 21, 2008

    Smart man (but stupid to buy them in the first place). Ford is a sinking ship...it is only a matter of time before they are fully underwater.

  • SCE to AUX We don't need no stinking badges.
  • SCE to AUX I've never been teased by a bumper like that one before.
  • 3SpeedAutomatic R&T could have killed the story before it was released.Now, by pulling it after the fact, they look like idiots!! What's new??
  • Master Baiter "That said, the Inflation Reduction Act apparently does run afoul of WTO rules..."Pfft. The Biden administration doesn't care about rules. The Supreme Court said they couldn't forgive student load debt; they did it anyway. Decorum and tradition says you don't prosecute former presidents; they are doing it anyway. They made the CDC suspend evictions though they had no constitutional authority to do so.
  • 1995 SC Good. To misquote Sheryl Crow "If it makes them unhappy, it can't be that bad"
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