September 08, 2008

Ford seals sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to TATA Motors - FT

FT reported that Ford Motor has signed an agreement to sell Jaguar and Land Rover to TATA Motors in London and that Ford Motors will announce details of the deal today

The report cited a person close to the deal as saying that “Ford has signed an agreement sealing the deal, worth about USD 2bn, but is withholding making it public until it had briefed the two carmakers’ employees. Ford is expected to make an announcement before markets open in the US on Wednesday.”

Financial Times said that a Ford spokesman declined to comment by saying that “We will not confirm anything until we have communicated any significant development to our employees.”

The auction, news of which became public last June, has been long running as Ford and its bankers, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and HSBC, winnowed down a long list of bidders that formerly included several buyout groups and rival carmaker Mahindra & Mahindra and hammered out commitments on both sides seen as crucial to the two brands’ future.

TATA Motors has also stayed quiet on this report. Mr Debasis Ray spokesman of TATA Motors said "We are in talks, we have no guidance to give at this time.”