Ford offloads more Rivian shares after lockup ends

FORD Motor sold more shares of Rivian Automotive Friday (May 13), offloading more than US$400 million worth of stock in the electric carmaker since the end of a lockup this week.  

The US automotive giant sold 7 million shares of Rivian stock at US$26.88 each on Friday, according to a filing, cutting its stake in the company to nearly 87 million shares. The transaction follows the sale of 8 million Rivian shares at US$26.80 apiece Monday, after selling restrictions on certain insiders and investors ended.  

Ford had invested US$1.2 billion in Rivian and saw the value of its stake surge in the wake of the EV (electric vehicle) maker’s public debut, the largest in the US last year. Since then, however, Rivian’s stock has cratered from a high of US$172 in November to touch a low of US$19.25 this week. 

Ford described the share sale as “prudent”, but wouldn’t say what the proceeds will be used for or if it planned to further trim its stake. Rivian didn’t immediately respond to requests for comments. 

Dearborn, Michigan-based Ford is making its own electric pickup truck, the F150 Lightning, which is seeing early success. Chief executive officer Jim Farley said in a Bloomberg interview in January that “everything is on the table”, when asked about his company’s stake in Rivian. BLOOMBERG