Ford to possibly sell stake of Mazda

[Galaxy]

The renesis was done by a few engineers on their spare time.  The chassis was developed to be under the rx-8 and miata.  Their marketing is centered around sports car.  Ford has zilch to do with the RX-8.

Mazda has had the resources to build low volume rotary powered cars since the 60's...

Correct me if I am wrong but the RX-8 and the Miata are the only cars that Mazda does not share with Ford. Do you really think that if Mazda where forced to build the 2,3,5,6, CX-7 by themselves there would be any money resources left for  an RX-8?

And Mazda did not really have the resources to build wankel cars in the past, theie effort to try and jam wankels into as many cars as they could almost killed them during the oil crisis, otherwise they might not have been forced to team up with FMO.

[Onslaught]

As much as it hurts to say this....
We have to give credit to Ford for anything Mazda's done in a long time. RX or not.
They didn't have anything to do with the actually designing or building of the car
really. But Mazda is still Ford's little bitch in the end.

[Laconian]

More on this:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=a9LuQl2YHM9c&refer=japan

Mazda May Buy Back Some Shares as Ford Considers Sale (Update3)

By Bill Koenig and Naoko Fujimura
Enlarge Image/Details

Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- Mazda Motor Corp. may buy back part of the one-third stake owned by Ford Motor Co. as the second- largest U.S. automaker considers unwinding its holdings, two people with knowledge of the discussions said.

Mazda may be joined by other Japanese companies to spread the risk, while Ford would keep part of its holding, said the people, who asked not to be identified because details including the price haven't been set. A transaction may occur next month, the people said.

Ford may reduce its three-decade-old investment in Mazda, ceding effective control, to boost cash as Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally works to end losses. The holding was valued at $1.33 billion based on Mazda's share price yesterday in Tokyo.

``It finally clears a cloud over Mazda,'' said Koji Endo, an analyst at Credit Suisse Securities (Japan) Ltd. in Tokyo. ``Having new stable shareholders will eliminate worries about Ford's move on Mazda's stake.''

Mark Truby, a Ford spokesman, declined to comment. ``Nothing has been decided,'' said Ken Haruki, a spokesman for Hiroshima, Japan-based Mazda.

Ford holds 33.4 percent in Mazda and has been an investor in Japan's fifth-largest automaker since 1979. The companies jointly own factories, and Ford has based midsized models such as the Fusion sedan on Mazda's Mazda6.

Ford's Losses

Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford has posted $23.9 billion in losses since 2005, and faces an increasing drain on cash as sales fall in its home market.

Ford's shares have tumbled 66 percent this year. They slid 15 cents, or 6.1 percent, to $2.30 yesterday in New York Stock Exchange composite trading.

Mazda, which has slumped 50 percent this year, dropped 2.1 percent to 279 yen at the 3 p.m. close of Tokyo Stock Exchange trading.

A group purchase of the Mazda stock would follow similar acquisitions through so-called keiretsus, or networks of Japanese corporations, that own stakes in one another.

About 10 companies in the Mitsubishi keiretsu participated in two financial bailouts totaling $7.6 billion for Mitsubishi Motors Corp. in 2004 and 2005, after Daimler AG decided to unload its controlling stake.

Possible Suitors?

The possible sale of Ford's stake in Mazda was first reported Oct. 11 by state-run Japanese broadcaster NHK and by Nikkei English News, which named trading houses Sumitomo Corp. and Itochu Corp. as prospective buyers.

Denso Corp., a Japanese partsmaker affiliated with Toyota Motor Corp., was asked by Ford to purchase part of the Mazda stake, Nikkei English News reported today, without saying where it got the information. Miwa Kurokawa, a Denso spokeswoman, declined to comment.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. and Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co., the group's two banking units, hold a 3.8 percent stake in Mazda, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sumitomo Corp., Japan's third-largest trading house, doesn't hold any shares of Mazda. Mazda is considered part of Sumitomo's keiretsu.

Sumitomo Corp. spokesman Masahiko Ueda and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. spokeswoman Chika Togawa declined to comment.

Profit Goal

Ford retreated in May from a goal of a 2009 profit and hasn't set a new target. It has withdrawn estimates of how much cash it will use from $23.4 billion in borrowing in late 2006 to pay for cutting jobs, closing plants and developing new models.

The Ford-Mazda relationship hasn't changed, Ford executives have said.

``I wouldn't focus on the percentage'' of Ford's stake, Executive Vice President Mark Fields told reporters in Dearborn on Oct. 13. The two companies have ``a spirit of cooperation,'' he said.

Under Mulally, Ford is unifying its own regional operations, and adding new small cars originally developed by the automaker's European unit.

Ford formed an automatic-transmission joint venture with Mazda in 1969 and acquired a 25 percent stake in the Japanese automaker in 1979. Ford expanded the holding to its current size in 1996, giving the U.S. automaker effective control.

To contact the reporters on this story: Bill Koenig in Southfield, Michigan at wkoenig@bloomberg.net; Naoko Fujimura in Tokyo at nfujimura@bloomberg.net
Last Updated: October 16, 2008 03:00 EDT

[Onslaught]

http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Ford-Sells-a-Portion-Its/story.aspx?guid=%7B142168E9-8FF7-4697-98C2-FC82518E403E%7D

[r0tor]

w00t

[FordSVT]

^I think it's a good thing as long as they maintain their relationship, as it appears they will. It's done nothing but good things for both companies over the years. Mazda might not exist or be an entirely different looking company today if it wasn't for Ford, and many of the best Ford cars over the last 25 years have been co-engineered with Mazda. Escort, Probe, Fusion.

[SVT666]

They only raised half a billion dollars from this?  What good is that?  It will last them 3 weeks at this rate.

[Laconian]

So did anybody pick up a controlling interest in Mazda, or are they free to their own devices now?

[FoMoJo]

So did anybody pick up a controlling interest in Mazda, or are they free to their own devices now?

another article...Hiroshima-based Mazda, which makes the RX-8 sports car and Miata roadster, said the two companies will continue their strategic relationship.

The Japanese automaker said it would purchase the shares sold by Ford along with "several of its strategic business partners."

Mazda will buy up to 6.87 percent of its own shares for up to 17.9 billion yen ($185.3 million) through an off-hours trading system on Wednesday morning.

The company was mum on buyers of the rest of the shares being sold, but media reports mentioned Japanese companies including regional Hiroshima Bank, trading houses Sumitomo Corp. and Itochu Corp., insurance firms including Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. as well as auto parts maker Denso Corp., as purchasers

[FoMoJo]

^I think it's a good thing as long as they maintain their relationship, as it appears they will. It's done nothing but good things for both companies over the years. Mazda might not exist or be an entirely different looking company today if it wasn't for Ford, and many of the best Ford cars over the last 25 years have been co-engineered with Mazda. Escort, Probe, Fusion.

...don't forget the Escape/Tribute.

[ChrisV]

not really... the RENESIS was a product of a skunkworks project that was under the radar.

And the reason there was money for it (you think the engineers spent money out of their own paychecks? You don't think Ford knew what it's money was being spent on?) was because Ford HAD the money, and LET them spend it. And Ford officially OK'd the project, and let it come to production. You really think Mazda did all the development work, tooled up for it, and put it in production and said "Suprise!" to Ford execs??????

Ford and Mazda have had a great partnership over the years, from the first Courier/B1600/REPu through the current Mazda3 underpinnings. Ford's received great engineering, and Mazda has recieved money AND autonomy to make cool cars that might not exist if the company were on its own.

[Onslaught]

I have mixed feelings. I hate Ford. Or I should say I hate working on Fords so some of the changes made to Mazda over the years didn't make me happy from a job point of view. My fear of them becoming a Japanese Mercury with Ford's with a different badge on them didn't ever come completely true with all their cars. On the other hand Ford helped Mazda out and they had Ford's cash to pull from. But now that Ford hasn't got any cash I suppose that's irrelevant now. Hopefully Mazda will do ok without them.

And Mazda, bring back the real B series small pickup trucks now please.

[hotrodalex]

As long as they continue to work together, I'm fine with it.

[Onslaught]

This is an old thread but it seemed like the right place to put  this

http://detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090119/AUTO01/901190322/1148