Ford Asks Ghosn to Consider Link If GM Talks Fail, People Say

[DanielXR8]

Ford Asks Ghosn to Consider Link If GM Talks Fail, People Say


By John Lippert and Kae Inoue

Aug. 23 (Bloomberg) -- Ford Motor Co. Chief Executive Officer William Clay Ford Jr. called Carlos Ghosn last month to discuss a partnership if Ghosn fails to form an alliance with General Motors Corp., three people familiar with the matter said.

Ghosn, the CEO of Japan's Nissan Motor Co. and France's Renault SA, said he wouldn't talk to Ford until his talks with GM conclude, said the people, who didn't want to be named because the conversation was private. Ghosn and GM Chief Executive Rick Wagoner are scheduled to present a preliminary report on a possible alliance to their respective directors by mid-October.

The July phone call marks at least the third time that Bill Ford, 49, has approached Ghosn. In August 2005, Bill Ford offered Ghosn a top executive position at the company founded by his great grandfather Henry Ford, Bloomberg reported last year.

``It simply means that Ford is desperate, that they're trying to find something that will reverse even temporarily their slide in the market,'' said Eugene Jennings, a business professor emeritus at Michigan State University.

Since last year's call, Ford Motor's condition has deteriorated. The company lost $1.44 billion through the first half of this year, and its U.S. market share is in a 10-year decline. Last week, Ford said it will slash North American production 21 percent in the fourth quarter, in part because of tumbling sales of its profitable F-Series pickup.

Ghosn, 52, rejected Ford's earlier entreaties because he doesn't want to work at a company controlled by its founding family, Bloomberg reported. Ford family members control 40 percent of the company's shareholder votes through Class B shares which they've agreed to sell only to each other. The first offer came in 2002, Bill Ford's first full year as CEO.

Ford spokesman Tom Hoyt declined to comment. Fred Standish, a Nissan spokesman, said he was unaware of a Ford phone call and couldn't comment further. Earlier today, The Wall Street Journal reported Bill Ford's July phone call to Ghosn in a column, citing an unidentified ``well-positioned'' person.

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