Sharks smell blood and move in... even if the wounded creature is strong.
Kirk Kerkorian is an investment shark. He looks for companies that have been temporarily weakened, but are showing signs of recovery... such as Ford Motor Company which reported earnings of $100 million for the first quarter. Then he strikes. He tries to bite off just enough of the company so that he can control or strongly influence near-term decisions. He is looking for a quick meal and is not concerned whether or not the company may survive after his foray. In fact, he senses that dismantling a company may provide more financial sustenance than allowing it to recover and continuing to nibble at the trough of profits.
He has made two attempts; first he went after Chrysler and then General Motors. Now he is after Ford Motor Company.
He is not concerned whether his gambit will work. He is only concerned with getting the stock price to run up quickly so he can sell at a tidy profit. The fact the the extended Ford family owns 40% of the voting stock through their Class B shares pretty much precludes Kerkorian from doing much more than being a colossal nuisance... and getting a quick profit bite by manipulating the stock. That's okay with most sharks.As shown by Chrysler and General Motors, the auto companies are not about to be guided into corporate suicide by inviting the shark to take over.
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