Thursday, May 14, 2009

Ford Motor Co. says shareholders have approved its request to issue more common shares to help pay some of its health care obligations to retired autoworkers.

At the automaker's annual meeting in Delaware, more than 95% of shareholders voted to authorize a stock offering that Ford could use to meet up to 50% of its obligations to its Voluntary Employee Beneficiary Association. That is the health care trust for retired autoworkers and their families.

On Monday, Ford disclosed a public offering of 300 million shares of common stock that will help it fund the VEBA, which is owed $6.3 billion by the end of this year.

The offer is a first for the 105-year-old company, which went public in 1956.