Kerkorian steps up Ford retreat

Billionaire investor Kirk Kerkorian has sold another slug of shares in carmaker Ford as he turns his back on the struggling company.

The 91-year-old Armenian-American sold 26.4 million shares for an average price of $2.01 a share some $53 million (£34 million) having offloaded a smaller stake for about $18 billion last week.

He now owns 4.89% of the company, having spent more than $1 billion building his stake when shares were worth more than $7 each.

The likely sale of the rest of his holding would be a costly retreat for the activist investor as well as the company.

Kerkorian took his stake in Ford above 6% in June in what was seen as a vote of confidence in the firm and its turnaround strategy.

However, the shares have crashed since then on fears for the future of the US car market.

His decision to pull out means Ford has lost a potential source of funding at a time when car sales are plummeting.