Ford Motor Co. is selling most of its stake in Japan's Mazda Motor Corp. in an effort to bolster its bottom line, and executives at both companies insist the move will not fundamentally alter the relationship between the two companies.

Dearborn-based Ford will sell just over 20 percent of Mazda to a consortium of Mazda's Japanese business partners, as well as to the Hiroshima-based automaker itself. Ford will retain slightly more than 13 percent of Mazda, meaning it will remain the largest single shareholder in the company.

Ford expects to net about $540 million from the deal. Ford needs that money to shore up its liquidity after burning through $7.7 billion last quarter alone as it struggles to turn around its U.S. automotive operations in the face of a mounting financial crisis.

"This agreement allows Ford to raise capital that will help fund our product-led transformation, and at the same time, allows Ford and Mazda to continue our successful strategic relationship in the best interest of both companies," Ford CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement.

That relationship has been central to both automakers' turnaround efforts in recent years.

Mazda has provided Ford with platforms that provide the foundation for most of its new cars and crossover vehicles. Ford also has adopted the Mazda product development system, making it the template for its own effort to streamline its global design and engineering operations.

In return, the much smaller Mazda has been able to use Ford's scale to take risks and find a niche for itself as a manufacturer of sporty cars and crossovers featuring some edgy designs. Mazda also has used Ford as a source for engines and transmissions to power a lineup of bigger vehicles designed for the North American market. These products, such as the CX-7 and CX-9 crossovers, helped Mazda to post record sales even as the broader market declined.

Some in Japan have worried privately that Ford's decision to sell its controlling interest in Mazda could rock the boat at a time when it is sailing more smoothly than ever. But executives at Mazda say there is no reason why the two companies cannot continue to share technologies, parts and platforms.

"I don't see that really changing at all. It's one of the relationships that has worked for a long, long time," said Mazda North America President Jim O'Sullivan, noting that the two companies have been working together for more than 30 years -- well before Ford took a controlling position in Mazda. "There's still going to be a lot of technology sharing going back and forth."

The move will have no effect on the joint-ventures the two companies have worldwide, including the AutoAlliance International plant in Flat Rock that produces the Mazda6 and Ford Mustang, he said. The two companies created that joint venture when Ford did not own a controlling stake in Mazda.

As part of the sale, Mazda will buy back nearly 7 percent of its stock. The rest will be bought by a group of Japanese banks, suppliers, insurers and trading companies.

Ford will give up its veto power over Mazda decisions, but both sides said Ford will continue to exert considerable influence as Mazda's single largest shareholder.

Phil Spender, a Ford corporate officer, will remain on Mazda's managing board, but two other Ford executives will relinquish their seats.

Hisakazu Imaki will continue as Mazda's chairman, but Mazda Executive Vice President Takashi Yamanouchi will become CEO. When he took over in 2003, he was the first Japanese to lead Mazda since just after Ford intervened to save the company from bankruptcy in 1996.

That decision was controversial in Japan, where many resented the idea of an American manufacturer taking over a Japanese company. But after a failed attempt to remake itself in the image of much larger Toyota Motor Corp., Ford allowed Mazda to once again produce the kind of sporty, distinctive cars that have long been its strength.

"I don't see any change in that strategy," O'Sullivan said. "We're going to continue to build Zoom-Zoom cars and trucks."