Ford completes tender offer, cuts $10B in debt

DETROIT (AP) — Ford Motor Co. says it completed a tender offer announced last month, reducing its debt by $9.9 billion.

About $4.3 billion in Ford's senior convertible notes were tendered. The auto maker says it will pay $344 million in cash premiums for the offer and issue 468 million shares as a result of the conversion.

An offer to purchase notes from its financing arm produced $3.4 billion in securities tendered. Ford Motor Credit will use $1.1 billion to purchase that debt.

The offers expired Friday.

The Dearborn, Mich.-based company is looking to pare down $25.8 billion in debt to weather the worst auto sales downturn in 27 years.