The investment company, Tracinda Corp., owned by billionaire Kirk Kerkorian, reported a large, favorable response to its tender offer to purchase another 20 million shares of the Ford Motor Company, a move that would make its stake in the automotive giant approximately 5.5 percent.

The offer, at $8.50 a share, resulted in offers totaling more than 1 billion shares, of which 20 million will be bought for a total price of approximately $170 million. The offer, launched on May 9, was a small premium on the May 8 closing price of $8.20. Since that time, shares in Ford have falled to Monday's close of $6.36.

The Ford board has taken a neutral stance to the purchase and offered no comments. The company, occupying the number 2 position among American automakers, announced in May that it would not be able to return to a position of profitability in 2009 as originally hoped. High gsoline prices and the overall weakness of the economy has led Ford to cut North American production for the remainder of the year.

On Tuesday, June 10, Ford acknowledge the interest in the tender offer as natural given the large premium it represents over the current stock value. "The Ford team remains focused on executing our plan to transform Ford into a lean global enterprise delivering profitable growth."