Tracinda fishes for 20 million Ford shares

DEARBORN, Mich., May 9 (UPI) -- Billionaire Kirk Kerkorian announced a tender offer for 20 million shares of Dearborn, Mich., automaker Ford Motor Co. Friday, an official filing shows.

Kerkorian filed his offer at the Securities and Exchange Commission and placed a solicitation in The Wall Street Journal, The Detroit News reported.

The SEC filing states, "We are making the offer because we believe Ford is an attractive investment."

The statement later said Kerkorian's firm Tracinda Corp. doesn't "have a present intention … to influence control over the business of Ford."

"Depending on our continuing evaluation … we may, from time to time, propose business strategies," the filing read.

Tracinda left open the chance it may "acquire additional shares."

Kerkorian owns 100 million Ford shares and is offering $8.50 a share to bring his holdings up to 5.5 percent of the company, the News reported. The company's share price closed Friday at $8.10.

Ford responded Friday, saying it interpreted a statement made by Tracinda's chief aide Jerry York in an April 4 meeting about investing in Ford to be "an off-the-cuff remark."

The company was unaware, at the time, that Tracinda had already begun investing in Ford, the statement said.