Report: Ford set to name Tata as next Jaguar, Land Rover owner
Reuters December 17, 2007 - 12:01 am ET
LONDON (Reuters) -- Ford Motor Co. is poised to name India's Tata Motors as preferred bidder for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported.
An announcement could come in before the new year, with Tata expected to pay about $2 billion, it added.
Ford, which is spinning off the British luxury marques to focus on restructuring its loss-making North American operations, said last week it aimed to complete the sale in early 2008.
Tata is competing in the auction for the luxury brands with rival Indian group Mahindra & Mahindra and private equity firm One Equity Partners.