Tata Head Expresses Interest
In Ford's Jaguar, Land Rover
August 24, 2007 1:13 p.m.
NEW DELHI -- The chairman of India's Tata Group said Friday his company is interested in acquiring the Jaguar and Land Rover units of Ford Motor Co.
"We certainly have an interest in that," Chairman Ratan Tata told the CNN-IBN television channel in an interview, excerpts of which were broadcast Friday. Ford, which lost $12.7 billion in 2006, has been looking to sell its Jaguar and Land Rover units.
The Tata Group's interests range from automobiles to steel and software. It has been seeking overseas acquisitions to gain global visibility after thriving for decades in a protected home market. Earlier this year, Tata Steel agreed to pay $12 billion to acquire Britain-based Corus Steel, an acquisition that would make the Indian company the world's fifth largest steel maker.
Mr. Tata said Jaguar and Land Rover could help expand the Tata Motors unit's world-wide reach and reduce its dependence on the Indian market, which accounts for more than 90% of its sales. "It is to give ourselves scale, to give ourselves global reach," he said, declining to comment further.
The company had previously refused to comment on media speculation about a possible Tata bid for the Ford assets. Ford has taken opening bids and has said any sale announcement would not come until late this year or early next year. The company will not comment on potential buyers, spokesman Tom Hoyt said Friday.
Two former Ford executives have reportedly enlisted private-equity firms to make separate bids for Jaguar and Land Rover.
Nick Scheele, who served as Ford's president between 2001 and 2005, has reportedly joined New York-based Ripplewood Holdings LLC to bid for the luxury brands. The other bid has reportedly come from Jacques Nasser, who was Ford's chief executive from 1999 to 2001 and has tied up with One Equity Partners LLC, a private equity firm affiliated with J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.
Copyright © 2007 Associated Press
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