Tata - Ford deal on Land Rover, Jaguar likely to close soon

5 February, 2008

Tata Motors is likely to acquire Ford brands Jaguar and Land Rover very soon, with the negotiations almost over.

Tata Motors is happy with the progress in the discussions with Ford. The deal is expected to be worth $2 billion. The Tatas have seen more activity on the negotiations front and hopes to acquire the two luxury brands.

Ford had recently announced that it had picked Tata as the preferred bidder for its British units. Tata was one of three bidders left in the race, the other two being fellow company Mahindra and Mahindra and One Equity, headed by former Ford chief executive Jacque Nasser. As per a Tata statement, the company was pleased by the progress in the discussions with Ford to date and hopes that both the parties can reach an agreement in the forthcoming weeks.

Meanwhile, a communication has pointed out that Tata Motors, which is engaged in focused and detailed negotiations with Ford on the Jaguar - Land Rover business, has had no discussions with Fiat on deployment of technologies developed by Jaguar and Land Rover.

It was earlier reported that Fiat had said that it had close association with the Tatas, which will in turn make it possible to share the Jaguar's rear-wheel drive chassis platforms and the Land Rover's four-wheel drive systems.