Ford considers going private

The Detriot Free Press reports:

Ford Motor is considering taking the company private, a move that could give the ailing automaker time to restructure operations outside the glare of critics, a source with direct knowledge of the discussions said Wednesday.

"The family is willing to look at anything," said the person, who didn't want to be identified because the discussions are ongoing. "A lot of different scenarios are being gamed out."

With Ford's shares closing at an anemic $7.76, going private could cost interested parties as little as $13.34 billion.

The Ford family owns about 5% of Ford's outstanding shares. The family controls 40% of the company through a separate class of stock. The automaker had no comment.

I guess some people are thinking about avoiding Sarbanes-Oxley.We suspect even that infamous underperforming CEO Pinch Sulzberger maybe reading this story before too long.