Mazda shares rose 6.4 percent to 184 yen amid media reports of an impending sale. Ford's announcement comes on the heels of General Motors Corp.'s sale of its remaining stake in Japan's Suzuki Motor Corp., which it announced Monday. GM said it would sell its remaining 3.02 percent stake in Suzuki for about $230 million. Ford and Mazda said they would continue their close collaboration, which has helped both companies to revitalize their product lineups. Ford has used Mazda platforms as the foundation for many of its new cars and crossovers. It has also adopted Mazda' product development system as the model for streamlining its own global product development operations. In turn, Mazda has leveraged Ford's scale to produce vehicles for the North American market like the CX-7 and CX-9 crossovers that have helped it to achieve record sales even as the broader U.S. market declined. 'The sale of Mazda shares by our partner, Ford, will not result in any change in Mazda's strategic direction and we will continue to accelerate our product-led brand improvement and cost innovation initiatives,' Mazda Chairman and CEO Hisakazu Imaki said. 'We will continue our strategic relationship through our ongoing joint ventures with Ford, as well as the sharing of platforms and powertrains.' Mazda will buy up to 6.87 percent of its own shares for up to $185.3 million through an off-hours trading system on Wednesday morning. The company was mum on buyers of the rest of the shares being sold, but media reports mentioned Japanese companies including regional Hiroshima Bank, trading houses Sumitomo Corp. and Itochu Corp., insurance firms including Tokio Marine Holdings Inc. as well as auto parts maker Denso Corp., as purchasers. The Associated Press contributed to this report.