Kerkorian Looks to Take Ford Driver's Seat

The automaker on Thursday reported a surprise $100 million profit in the first quarter that impressed Wall Street and sent its shares higher. Still, Ford executives cautioned that the company still faces challenges in North America amid a slowing economy this year.

"Any investor can purchase Ford shares, which are sold on the open market," Ford CEO Alan Mulally and Executive Chairman Bill Ford said in a joint statement, responding to Kerkorian's announcement. "The Ford team remains focused on executing our plan to transform Ford into a lean global enterprise delivering profitable growth for all."

Kerkorian, however, isn't "any investor," particularly in the auto industry. Tracinda was Chrysler's largest shareholder at the time of its 1998 merger with DaimlerBenz. He sued the combined company in 2000, claiming that Daimler-Benz defrauded him by casting the deal as a "merger of equals." A federal judge rejected his claim.

A year ago, Tracinda made an unsuccessful $4.5 billion cash offer for Chrysler, and in 2006 it sold off a nearly 10% stake of GM after Kerkorian's representative on the company's board, Jerome York, lost a boardroom battle with GM CEO Rick Wagoner. Tracinda was pressuring GM to enter into an alliance with Carlos Ghosn's Nissan-Renault, which Wagoner refused.

GM will report its first-quarter earnings results on Wednesday.

"Initial professions not withstanding, Kerkorian's role in the auto industry has been anything but passive," said Bear Stearns analyst Peter Nesvold in a note to clients. "Nevertheless, we see less opportunity for aggressive activism in this case, given the Ford family's Class B voting rights."