New owner for Jaguar and Land Rover

The spell of NANO was not fully over, when Tata Motors again proved its significant presence in the Indian automobile sector by the acquisition of the luxury brands of Jaguar and Land Rover. The landmark has been achieved after a long drawn negotiation between Tata and Ford Motors. The former has acquired the above mentioned brands for US$ 2.3 billion in cash. The Company will raise this amount through a bridge loan from a group of banks, which includes SBI, JP Morgan, Citi Group and others. Subject to different regulatory norms the deal is ought to get closed by June 2008. This is one of the largest deals ever made by an Indian automobile company in the automobile business. The price that Tata has paid is less than half of what Ford motor paid in acquiring the two brands previously. The latter had paid around US$ 2.5 billion each for Jaguar and Ford.