Posted on 03/25/2008 12:42:59 PM PDT by Red Badger
LONDON, March 25 (Reuters) - U.S. automaker Ford (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) has agreed to sell its luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata Motors (TAMO.BO: Quote, Profile, Research) for more than $2 billion, according to a source familiar with the matter.
Ford, which signed the deal on Tuesday, plans to publicly announce the transaction in New York at 0800 EST on Wednesday, said another source.
The deal will also see Ford pay about 300 million pounds ($598 million) into Jaguar and Land Rovers' pension funds, according to unions.
Ford declined to comment, adding "our first responsibility is to communicate with our employees."
The sale had been expected at the start of this month, but it was delayed as the two firms discussed their future relationship, including technology sharing and Ford's provision of engines and body parts for the two brands.
Tata, India's top vehicle maker, has been in talks with Ford since it was chosen as the frontrunner to buy Jaguar and Land Rover a few days into 2008.
Tata is pursuing the deal to gain a substantial foothold outside India.
But analysts have questioned how Tata will incorporate the luxury brands into its stable of sturdy trucks and functional passenger cars, including the Nano, the world's cheapest car which it unveiled in January.
While Land Rover has generated three years of record sales with its iconic SUVs, the fit of Jaguar is far less clear. Ford, which lost $2.7 billion in 2007 and $12.6 billion in 2006, is spinning off Jaguar and Land Rover to focus on turning around its loss-making operations in North America.
The sale will include a commitment by Tata to continue buying engines from Ford, according to unions.
All Jaguar and Land Rover's petrol engines are built in a Ford plant in South Wales, supporting hundreds of jobs there. Diesel engines come from Ford's factory in Dagenham, east London.
One of the sources knocked down reports on Indian television earlier on Tuesday that the deal had been closed for $2.65 billion.
"That figure of $2.65 billion is highly unlikely," one source close to the deal said of the report on news channel NDTV Profit. "You have to come south from that by quite a bit."
Ahead of the TV report, shares in Tata Motors rose 2.7 percent to a three-week closing high of 679.95 rupees, in a Mumbai market that surged 6.1 percent.
Ford shares were down 0.2 percent at around $5.95 at 1813 GMT. (Additional reporting by Hiral Vora and Narayanan Somasundaram; Editing by John Mair/Rory Channing/David Cowell)
Perhaps, but I'd be careful underestimating them as I've read that East Indians are the single most successful immigrant group in America.
I meant the locals. The smart ones are either here or coming.
The ones left there are... phew, it’s BAD.
That looks more like a Taurus (particularly a 96-99 Taurus) to me than an x-type... but still not exactly a Taurus look-alike...
At least no more so than any other vehicle. Quite honestly most midsize sedans look so much alike its silly anymore. And they all buy their parts from the same suppliers..... Would you like a Ford Passat or a Volkswagen Accord or a Honda Camry or a Toyota Taurus? :P
Of course, if you believe the AFA, then since Ford stopped all that stuff, they’re the cleanest car company on the planet....
Yeah, I finally saw the XF in person in NY last week. Beautiful car - and very reasonably priced for what it is, as is the XK. Which is why I said earlier that it almost makes me want to cry that Ford is giving the company away just when they’ve returned it to world class.
S-type and the Taurus were built off of the same platform, so there’s bound to be some familial resemblance. But no doubt many cars look alike these days. Only so much you can do with a rounded, aerodynamic blob...
S-type was built on the DEW98 platform, which served as the basis for the Lincoln LS and Ford Thunderbird.
The Taurus was on the D186 platform through 2007. This was shared with the Mercury Sable, Lincoln Continental, and Ford Windstar.
The new Taurus is on the D3 platform, which is/was used for the Sable, Taurus X / Freestyle, Mercury Montego, Volvo S80, Volvo V70, Volvo XC70, Volvo S60, Volvo XC90, and the upcoming Lincoln MKS....
The D3 was based off the Volvo P2, which was designed by Volvo prior to Ford’s buyout of Volvo, and which debuted in 1999.... the D3 and DEW98 are unrelated....
Thanks. My info source must have been mistaken. At least I know he couldn’t give me that kind of detail. :)
Dang! You have a lot of info there and it is friggin spot on too! Good job.
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