Update: Jaguar and Land Rover costing Tata $3 billion?

Posted Wed Mar 5 2008 2:07 PM by Ralph Hanson

Updated: Latest reports are claiming Tata is seeking $3 billion dollars in loans to acquire the Jaguar and Land Rover brands. The information comes from people close to deal, who told Bloomberg Tata has contacted investment banks Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase about securing the loan. Ford, meanwhile, was expected to announce the deal in the next couple of days but it appears we won’t find out the final details until next week at the earliest. Part of the reason was that Ford didn’t want to overshadow the launch of its new models at the Geneva Motor Show by announcing that it had finally sold Jaguar and Land Rover.

Original: Ford and Tata have come to an agreement over the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover and are confirmed to announce the takeover on either March 5 or 6. Ford first put the British labels up for sale as far back as the middle of last year and after a tumultuous bidding war that lasted only a couple of months Tata quickly emerged as the likely buyer. However, Ford hasn’t confirmed the Indian giant as the new owner until now.

Officials were waiting for the outcome of meetings between unions, which concluded last week, before the signing of a memorandum of understanding for the sale. In an interview with Automotive News Europe, union official Roger Maddison said Tata had agreed to meet guarantees sought by the unions. He said, "everything seems fine as far as we are concerned, it's just the lawyers working on it now."

An inside source at Ford has told reporters that the March 5 or 6 date is “not too far off track” but officials don’t want to overshadow the reveal of the new Fiesta hatch at next month’s Geneva Motor Show.

2009 Ford Fiesta

Gallery: 2009 Ford Fiesta

Reader Comments

Wed Mar 5 2008 2:41 PM
chris says

while 3 billion is closer to what i would perceive the value of those brands to be, it isnt necesarily true that they need 3 billion to cover the purchase. that extra sum may be for immediate funding OF those brands. who knows. they may have 1 billion in upgrades they want to make right away.

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