Mazda To Buy Back 20% Of Ford Ownership Stake For $185 Million

TO OWNER....

Ford to Change Ownership Stake in Mazda

- The two companies will continue their strategic relationship -

HIROSHIMA, November 18, 2008—Mazda Motor Corporation (Mazda) has announced today that Mazda and several of its strategic business partners will acquire a part of Ford Motor Company’s (Ford) shares in Mazda through market trading.

As a result, the ratio of Ford’s ownership of Mazda stock will be reduced from 33.4 percent to just over 13 percent, with the new agreement allowing the two companies to continue their strategic relationship that spans nearly 30 years.

“The sale of Mazda shares by our partner, Ford, will not result in any change in Mazda’s strategic direction and we will continue to accelerate our product-led brand improvement and cost innovation initiatives,” says Mazda’s Chairman, President and CEO, Hisakazu Imaki. “We will continue our strategic relationship through our ongoing joint ventures with Ford, as well as the sharing of platforms and powertrains.”

“This agreement allows Ford to raise capital that will help fund our product-led transformation, and at the same time, allows Ford and Mazda to continue our successful strategic relationship in the best interest of both companies,” said Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally.

Ford’s sale of the Mazda stock will be achieved through Mazda and a group of Mazda’s strategic business partners each buying a portion of the shares.

Source;

http://jalopnik.com/5091700/mazda-to-buy-back-20-of-ford-ownership-stake-for-185-million

Ford sells Jaguar and Land Rover to India's TATA

Not much in the way of Honda news front, so I thought I'd fill the void with some other news.

Ford Motor Co., the world's third- largest automaker, agreed to sell Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata Motors Ltd., for less than half what it paid for the two brands as luxury-vehicle demand drops.

Tata, India's biggest truckmaker, will spend $2.3 billion (I've also heard as high as $2.65 billion), while Ford will contribute about $600 million at closing to the Jaguar Land Rover pension funds, the companies said today.

Ford is ending its investment in U.K.-based brands as the U.S. housing slump and job losses curb sales of models such as the $80,000 Jaguar XK. Ford is working to return to profit next year after $15.3 billion in losses in 2006 and 2007.

"Ford's financial situation is so severe it simply can't afford to sustain the two companies any longer,'' said Peter Schmidt , managing director of U.K. consulting firm Automotive Industry Data. ``Jaguar has been nothing but a financial millstone.''

Ford acquired Jaguar in 1989 for $2.5 billion and Land Rover in 2000 for $2.73 billion as part of a European-luxury strategy it began by buying Aston Martin in 1987. It sold Aston last year. (Ouch, talk about cutting your losses.)

Here's a link to the rest of the article;

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a6BCGuWnMT8Q&refer=home