'Tata deal nearly sealed on Jaguar, Land Rover'
Monday, 17 December 2007, 16:54 IST
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London: Tata Motors is set to be named by the U.S. Ford Group as the preferred buyer for its luxury Jaguar and Land Rover cars, a newspaper reported Sunday quoting sources close to the negotiations. A Ford spokesman, speaking to IANS, said an announcement was expected in the New Year. "There is tremendous speculation going on at the moment, and I don't expect much to happen during Christmas," he said. Three bidders are in the running in the sell-off of the two of British iconic labels but their U.S. owners have so far refused to name the bidders or the amounts of money involved. However, British unions involved in the sale have already gone public by naming Tata as their preferred buyer, and rejecting the two others in the field - One Equity, an equity group run by a former Ford chief executive, and Mahindra & Mahindra, a second Indian bidder. The newspaper said Tata was expected to pay about one billion pounds and that the deal will be announced in the next fortnight. It said Tata plans to retain all three of the Jaguar and Land Rover factories that together employ around 15,000 workers in the towns of Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood. Detailed negotiations are expected after the preferred-bidder agreement and Tata will have to negotiate a settlement with pension trustees as well as a side deal with Ford over the continued supply of engines and other components - a key demand of workers' unions.
Source: IANS
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