Billionaire activist investor Kirk Kerkorian is making waves Monday by announcing that his Tracinda Corp. not only has amassed 100 million shares of Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F), but that he is making an additional offer of $8.50 per share for another 20 million shares.

Worth more than $18 billion largely from plays in Las Vegas, Kerkorian nonetheless has a history of entangling himself with other Detroit automakers like General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM) and Chrysler. This announcement is a signal that he has faith in the turnaround efforts of Ford CEO Alan Mulally.

With the purchase of an additional 20 million shares, Kerkorian would have more than a 5% stake in Ford, a company still dominated by family interests. Despite going public in 1956, the descendants of Henry Ford still control 40% of the voting rights in the company - and given their track record, this almost definitively rules out and acquisition. This is important because such a rapid accumulation of shares by an outsider is often a build-up to a take-over attempt.

Kerkorian's logic in building such a large stake in Ford remain somewhat mysterious. Though the company reported a surprising first quarter profit, it still expects to lose money overall in 2008. Ford's truck and SUV-dependent lineup continue to be a huge liability with record gas prices.

According to a release Kerkorian, though his company, said "Tracinda has been following Ford closely since the company released its fourth quarter 2007 results which indicated that Ford’s management was starting to achieve highly meaningful traction in its turnaround efforts. Last week this was reinforced by Ford's first quarter 2008 results, achieved despite the difficult U.S. economic environment. Tracinda believes that Ford management under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally will continue to show significant improvements in its results going forward."

Whether Kerkorian proves to be right, only time will tell, but for now Ford faces an uphill battle.

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