الموضوع: فورد ستبيع كل حصتها في مازدا

Ford currently owns a 33.4% stake in Mazda but the troubled Detroit 3 carmaker is reportedly considering a partial sale of its share in the Japanese company. The Blue Oval’s share price dipped below the $2 mark this past week, ending at $1.99 at Friday’s market close. Coupled with America’s credit crisis and Ford's own credit rating moving deeper into junk status, the carmaker will soon have to look at other avenues of raising needed cash.

According to Japan’s Nikkei business daily, Ford is looking at selling a 20% portion of Mazda but is keen to maintain its management and production ties. The Japanese newspaper also reported that India’s Tata, which earlier this year acquired Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford, is one of the potential buyers of the stake in Mazda. Another is Japanese trading company Sumitomo Corp.

Several Ford and Mazda models are closely linked and share a number of components and platforms. The Mazda2 and Mazda3, for example, are based on the same platforms as Ford’s new Fiesta and Focus (European), respectively, thus the two carmakers will be closely linked for some time to come. Spokesmen for both companies have stated that nothing has changed and no decision on a sale had been made, but neither ruled out the possibility.

Mazda posted a record profit of $1.55 billion in 2007, selling more than 1,363,000 units worldwide, and this year’s sales levels are forecasted to be higher, making it a valuable target.

Like General Motors, which was reported yesterday to be considering acquiring Chrysler, Ford has stated emphatically that it is not planning to declare bankruptcy and that any important decision would be fully disclosed.