Kirk Kerkorian, the billionaire investor who has a long history with Detroit’s auto makers, has stepped back into the fray with the purchase of shares in Ford Motor Co., the Wall Street Journal rerpots

Mr. Kerkorian’s Tracinda Corp. investment vehicle announced Monday that it has purchased 100 million shares of Ford stock this month and that it plans to acquire an additional 20 million through a tender offer. Once completed, Mr. Kerkorian will have a 5.6% stake in the Dearborn, Mich., auto maker.

The news sent Ford shares as much as 10% higher in early trading on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock was up 9.7% at $8.23 recently.

Tracinda said in a statement that Ford is “starting to achieve highly meaningful traction in its turnaround efforts.” Citing the company’s first-quarter results as an example of the turnaround, Tracinda noted that it is confident that Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally “will continue to show significant improvements in results going forward.”

Mr. Kerkorian in the past accumulated holdings in General Motors Corp. (GM) and Chrysler as a means to push for change at the companies, but the comments Monday indicate that his strategy here could be different. In addition, Ford’s ownership structure — the Ford family controls the bulk of voting shares — could make it more difficult for Kerkorian to be as aggressive as he has been in past situations.

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