(Reuters) - U.S. auto maker Ford Motor Co (F.N) will take control of its Russian venture with Sollers (SVAV.MM) and provide it with additional financial support, the Russian firm said on Friday.
Ford is taking control in exchange for preferred shares in the Ford-Sollers venture, while its economic interest in the venture remains unchanged at 50 percent, Sollers said.
The companies agreed the changes to the venture's shareholder structure on March 31, Sollers said, without providing any financial details of the transaction.
"According to the amendments, the parties agreed to support the business of the joint venture in the near future, thus providing a platform for future growth," Sollers said in its 2014 financial report.
It added Ford would provide "additional financing and
support" to the venture which is responsible for local production, sales and imports of Ford cars in Russia, while Sollers will have the right to sell its stake in JV to Ford for at least $135 million.
Sollers said earlier on Friday that losses at the venture resulted in a 2014 net loss of 3.7 billion rubles ($72 million) compared with a net profit of 3.6 billion in 2013.
Stripping off Ford-Sollers's results, the auto maker would have made a net profit of 1.7 billion rubles, it said.
Car sales in Russia fell sharply last year as demand faltered following a drop in the rouble and a sharp economic slowdown amid Western sanctions over Moscow's role in theUkraine crisis and lower oil prices.
The decline continued this year with March sales down 42.5 percent, according to the Association of European Businesses which expects the market to fall by around 24 percent in 2015.
Sollers also has joint ventures with Japanese car makers Mazda (7261.T), Toyota (7203.T), and Isuzu (7202.T) and a partnership with S.Korea's SsangYong (003620.KS).
(The story changes 6th graph to say compared with 2013, not 2014)
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