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First Posted: 10/24/2013

(AP) Ford CEO Alan Mulally wouldn’t say Thursday if he has talked to Microsoft about taking the CEO job at the software giant.


“We don’t comment on the speculation,” he said on the company’s third-quarter earnings conference call.


Mulally repeated that there’s no change in the company’s plan for him to stay as CEO through the end of 2014. Mulally, 68, has held the top job at Ford since 2006.


Microsoft Corp. is reportedly considering Mulally as a replacement for CEO Steve Ballmer, who intends to step down in less than a year.


Mulally hasn’t denied reports that Microsoft is courting him. His name surfaced shortly after Ballmer announced his decision in August. The two are friends. Ballmer even spoke with Mulally over coffee about a wide-ranging reorganization that Microsoft announced in July.


Earlier this week Oracle President Mark Hurd said he’s not planning to become the next Microsoft CEO.


Shares of Ford Motor Co. rose 26 cents to $17.78 in morning trading. The No. 2 U.S. automaker reported a record pretax profit of $2.6 billion for the third quarter, helped by improved results in its overseas operations.


Associated Press