Posted on Tuesday 9 October 2007
Ford is keen to offload Jaguar and Land Rover from its Premier Auto Group but finding a buyer for the British carmakers is proving to be a difficult task. Officials originally set September 30 as the final date for all potential bids to come in but this was quickly extended by two weeks after it was revealed there was a downturn in the credit market. Now the deadline has slipped again, with the new date set for early next month.
Of concern to bidders, who are spending millions of dollars researching the financials of Jaguar and Land Rover, is the possibility that Ford may not even sell the labels, according to the Financial Times. Already India’s Mahindra has pulled out of the race and there are rumors other bidders may follow suit soon if Ford does not make a decision.
There’s also the possibility that no one is offering the widely reported $8 billion Ford is hoping to reap from the sale. Jaguar lost more than $700m last financial year and is expected to continue losing money for the next several years, making it a very hard sale.
“Jaguar lost more than $700 last financial year …”
Yes, 100,000 times $700.
It’s a bummer Ford couldnt’ amke this work somehow. Seems like a good match, they don’t really make anything that competes with one another, and Jag seems to have benefitted from the shot in the arm, but oh well.