Ford: Surprised by Kerkorian investment

The filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission also notes that York had discussed Tracinda's interest in buying Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford and the investment company made an offer in July 2007.

Ford officials told York that Tracinda that it would not be included in a second round of bidders. The Jaguar and Land Rover brands were sold in March to India-based Tata Motors Ltd. for $2.3 billion, a third of the original purchase price.

During the company's annual meeting Thursday, Bill Ford praised Mulally's leadership of the company and said they "welcome Tracinda and thank them for their confidence in our plan."

Mulally and Ford leaders have been working to return Ford to profitability by 2009 and have been encouraged by the company's surprise $100 million profit during the first quarter of this year following losses of $2.7 billion for 2007.

Kerkorian's interest in the company has touched off speculation on how he might try to influence the automaker.

The 90-year-old casino mogul rarely has acted passively as a major shareholder. He attempted to take over Chrysler during the 1990s and invested heavily in General Motors Corp. in 2006 in an attempt to foster an alignment with Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA.

York, a former Chrysler chief financial officer, recently said Ford should sell its Mercury and Volvo brands, a move that quickly was dismissed by Ford officials. In addition to Land Rover and Jaguar, Ford sold its Aston Martin brand, but has said it plans to keep Volvo and work on making the unit more profitable.

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Associated Press Writer David Runk in Detroit contributed to this report.

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