The rumour that had been circulating for a while now was confirmed this morning. Ford's fire sale and urgent search for funds have resulted in the sale of most of its stake in the Mazda Motor Corporation.
The manufacturer is practically selling the entirety of its assets in the companies of which it held a majority of shares. After the sale of Aston Martin to the ProDrive consortium and the block sale of the British Land Rover and Jaguar brands to the Tata group, it's now Mazda's turn.
A third party won't be claiming ownership this time, but rather Mazda's parent company, which has bought back 20.4% of all Ford's shares. Ford owned 33.4% of Mazda's shares and is only keeping around 13%.
Mazda itself will be making the buyback along with the company's strategic work group. The presidents of Mazda and Ford, Hisakazu Imaki and Alan Mulally, have stressed that the two companies will continue to cooperate on a regular basis.
The amount of the sale hasn't yet been mentioned, but it's upward of $500 million. In the end, it's troubling to see that Ford insists on getting rid of companies that it worked for years to put back on the path to profitability in order to obtain credit, just when the profitability of these companies is on the rise.
photo:Ford
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The manufacturer is practically selling the entirety of its assets in the companies of which it held a majority of shares. After the sale of Aston Martin to the ProDrive consortium and the block sale of the British Land Rover and Jaguar brands to the Tata group, it's now Mazda's turn.
A third party won't be claiming ownership this time, but rather Mazda's parent company, which has bought back 20.4% of all Ford's shares. Ford owned 33.4% of Mazda's shares and is only keeping around 13%.
Mazda itself will be making the buyback along with the company's strategic work group. The presidents of Mazda and Ford, Hisakazu Imaki and Alan Mulally, have stressed that the two companies will continue to cooperate on a regular basis.
The amount of the sale hasn't yet been mentioned, but it's upward of $500 million. In the end, it's troubling to see that Ford insists on getting rid of companies that it worked for years to put back on the path to profitability in order to obtain credit, just when the profitability of these companies is on the rise.
photo:Ford