Kirk Kerkorian announced his company’s designs on Ford Motor on Monday in typically histrionic style.

Tracinda Corp, the investment vehicle named after his daughters Tracy and Linda, surprised Wall Street with an early-morning statement from California that it had amassed 5 per cent of the carmaker and was launching a “cash tender offer” for a further 1 per cent stake. By midday Ford’s share price had jumped to $8.33, its highest level in five months.