Ford in Talks to Sell Mazda Stake - Analyst Blog

Ford Motor Co. (F) has concluded talks with 10 potential buyers in Japan in order to sell most of its 11% stake in Japan's Mazda Motor Corp. by the end of this year. The buyers included Tokyo-based trading conglomerate Itochu Corp., the company's main lender Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., and other business partners such as trading house Sumitomo Corp.

The Nikkei business daily has reported that Itochu and Sumitomo Corp. will each buy a 3% stake for about ¥10 billion ($119.7 million). Meanwhile, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. will increase its stake in Mazda from 2.9% to nearly 4%, making it the company's largest shareholder.

Apart from these, Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, general contractor Kajima Corp. and Sumitomo Metal Industries will buy about 0.5% each, while the rest will be acquired by the auto parts suppliers of Mazda.

The partnership between Ford and Mazda began in 1979. Through the partnership, Ford intended to develop small and fuel-efficient cars using Mazda's technology while Mazda depended on Ford to fund its research and development activities.

However, Ford loosened its ties with Mazda in 2008 by reducing its 33.4% stake in the company to 13% and later to 11% in order to raise cash during the global economic crunch. Presently, Ford is the largest shareholder of Mazda with an 11% stake.

Mazda and Ford share same engineering platforms and have joint production facilities in Asia. They are also pursuing expansion plans in these facilities, which are supposed to take their strategic partnership to the next level. However, the partnership's future is uncertain after Ford sells its stake in the Japanese automaker.