Click to play videoNew Delhi: India’s largest conglomerate Tata Group is in the early stages of evaluating a bid for the Jaguar and Land Rover brands which, if completed, would rank among India's biggest overseas takeover deals, The Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday .
Tata Motors, which is controlled by Ratan Tata, India's best-known businessman, is understood to have instructed advisers to begin evaluating the merits of a joint offer for Jaguar and Land Rover, which have been earmarked for disposal by struggling American car giant Ford. Analysts suggest that Jaguar and Land Rover may fetch about USD 1.5 billion.
Sources told CNN-IBN that Tata Motors' evaluation of a bid was at an "exploratory" stage and that speculation is rife that Tata Motors has already signed a confidentiality agreement with Ford in recent days.
Ratan Tata having acquired British steel company Corus through his Tata Steel business for £6.7 billion earlier this year, is now looking forward to India's biggest foreign takeover.
The group's automotive unit has been drawing up plans to launch the world's cheapest car, a Rs 1 lakh economy vehicle that could be launched as early as next January. Besides Tata, other car makers may be interested in bidding, while a formal auction would also be likely to attract private equity firms. Cerberus, the US buyout firm, acquired Chrysler this year for just under $7.5bn.
With excerpts from The Daily Telegraph
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