Tata Motors grabbed Jaguar, Land Rover for $2.3 bn

Tata Motors Wednesday (26 march 2008) acquired Ford's British marquees Jaguar and Land Rover for 2.30 billion dollars in an all cash deal, that comes with brands, plants and Intellectual Property Rights.

Land Rover and Jaguar have a rich legacy and are known for expertise, now it is under Tata’s belt.

Two months ago, Tata Motors launched Nano and became the world's cheapest car maker - an affordable family car that will begin selling for Rs one lakh or nearly USD 2,500 (ex-showroom) later this year, and now they have car brands that costing between Rs 50 lakh and above and could cost up to Rs 1 crore when imported to India.

“We are very pleased at the prospect of Jaguar and Land Rover being a significant part of our automotive business. We have enormous respect for the two brands and will endeavour to preserve and build on their heritage and competitiveness, keeping their identities intact. We aim to support their growth, while holding true to our principles of allowing the management and employees to bring their experience and expertise to bear on the growth of the business,” Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, Ratan Tata, said of the acquisition.

Ford will continue to supply Jaguar and Land Rover for differing period with power trains, stampings and other vehicle components in addition to a variety of technologies such as environmental and platforms.
Ford has also committed to providing engineering support, including Research and Development plus information technology, accounting and other services.

"We will fund the deal through existing cash reserves and new debt facilities which will be raised at the company's level," Tata Motors spokesperson told.
Ford Motor Credit Company will provide financing for JLR dealers and customers during a transitional period.

Jaguar Land Rover’s employees, trades unions and the UK government have been kept informed of developments as the sale process progressed and have indicated their support for the agreement.

About Tata:

Tata Group, India's second largest business group and multinational company.
Tata is in Automobiles, Steel, Information Technology, Communication, Power, Hotels business.
The Tata Group has operations in more than 85 countries across six continents and its companies export products and services to 80 nations. The Tata Group comprises 98 companies in seven business sectors, 27 of which are publicly listed. 65.8% of the ownership of Tata Group is held by the charitable trust of Tata. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tata_Group )

Tata Motors is India's largest automobile company, with revenues of $7.2 billion in 2006-07. With over 4 million Tata vehicles plying in India, it is the leader in commercial vehicles and the second largest in passenger vehicles.
In the past few years, the Tata group has led the growing appetite among Indian companies to acquire businesses overseas in Europe, the United States, Australia and Africa - some even several times larger - in a bid to consolidate operations and emerge as the new age multinationals.

Sources:

http://www.ndtvprofit.com/2008/03/26100658/Tata-Motors-to-pay-230-bn-fo.html

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Tata_acquires_Jaguar_Land_Rover_for_23_bn/articleshow/2902216.cms

Tata Motors settled the Jaguar and Land Rover deal

Ford has agreed to sell its luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover to India's Tata Motors for more than $2 billion.
Ford, which signed the deal on Tuesday, plans to publicly announce the transaction in New York on Wednesday. Ford said: "our first responsibility is to communicate with our employees."
Tata Motors spokesperson said the company would make an announcement at an "appropriate time".

The deal will also see Ford pay about 300 million pounds ($598 million) into Jaguar and Land Rovers' pension funds, according to unions.
The sale will include a commitment by Tata to continue buying engines from Ford, according to unions. All Jaguar and Land Rover's petrol engines are built in a Ford plant in South Wales, supporting hundreds of jobs there. Diesel engines come from Ford's factory in Dagenham, east London.

Tata, India's top vehicle maker, has been in talks with Ford since it was chosen as the frontrunner to buy Jaguar and Land Rover a few days into 2008.
During the race for JLR, in which India's Mahindra & Mahindra was also in race.
Tatas gained the crucial support from Unite - main trade union of Jaguar and Land Rover.
"We are confident our members' long-term future is best served by Tata," said Dave Osborne, national secretary for vehicle building at the Unite union, few days back.

"My congratulations to the Tatas and entire corporate world as they have held India's private sector flag high. The world is looking at India," Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said in New Delhi.
"The most important thing is that world is recognising India's credibility".

sources:
http://www.ndtvprofit.com/2008/03/26100658/Tata-inks-JLR-deal-with-Ford.html
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Govt_praises_Tata_for_Jaguar-Rover_deal/articleshow/2900940.cms