US car marker Ford sells shares in EV maker Rivian for $214 million

Ford Motor Co sold eight million shares of electric-car maker Rivian Automotive Inc for $214 million, or $26.80 apiece, the U.S. automaker said in a filing on Tuesday.

Ford now holds nearly 94 million shares, or a 10.5% stake, and is still the fourth-largest shareholder in the Irvine, California-based company, according to Refinitiv data.

Rivian is struggling in a competitive market, including competition from Ford`s F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck, while a supply chain crisis is limiting production at its plants.

The electric-car maker earlier slashed its planned 2022 production in half to 25,000 vehicles.

Ford`s selling price of $26.8 per share on May 9 came in lower than Rivian`s close of $28.79 on Friday.

Rivian shares have dropped nearly 21% since CNBC reported the sale over the weekend.

T.Rowe Price Associates is the largest shareholder in the electric car maker with an 18.2% stake, followed by Amazon.com Inc`s 17.7% stake.

Amazon.com posted a 59% slump in its first-quarter operating income, largely hurt by its investments in the carmaker.

The U.S. retail giant, which is also one of Rivian`s key customers, expects to receive 100,000 delivery vans by 2024.

A markdown in the value of Ford`s stake in Rivian led to its first-quarter net loss of $3.1 billion.

Rivian and Ford did not immediately respond to requests for comment.