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December 10, 2007 |
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FORD MOTOR: American Jaguar Dealers Prefer Sale to U.S. Bidder American dealers of Ford Motor Company's Premier Automotive Brand, Jaguar, have expressed preference over U.S. group, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.'s One Equity Partners LLC, bidding over the luxury car unit, Stephen Power in Frankfurt and Eric Bellman in Mumbai of the Wall Street Journal report. Ken Gorin, chairman of the Jaguar Business Operations Council, says he is wary over the perception on Jaguar if owned by companies out of India, such as final bidders Tata Motors Ltd. and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., WSJ relates. Although, he insists that the particularity is on the unique image projection of Jaguar as a luxury brand, and not on the management capabilities of the Indian bidders. The choice of U.S. dealers, WSJ relates, may have something to do with Jacques Nasser, managing director of One Equity Partners. Mr. Nasser was Ford's CEO from 1999 to 2001, who advocated the investment on Ford's Europeam luxury brands. As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Nov. 13, 2007, Ford continues to explore in greater detail the potential sale of its Premier Automotive Group brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, with interested parties and anticipates these discussions will culminate in an agreement no later than early next year. In early September 2007, Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and One Equity Partners, led by former Ford CEO Jacques Nasser, have advanced into the second round of Ford's auction process for its Jaguar and Land Rover marques. Headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) -- http://www.ford.com/ -- manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 260,000 employees and about 100 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo, Aston Martin, and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. The company has operations in Japan in the Asia Pacific region. In Europe, the company maintains a presence in Sweden, and the United Kingdom. The company also distributes its brands in various Latin American regions, including Argentina and Brazil. * * * As reported in the Troubled Company Reporter on Nov. 19, 2007, Moody's Investors Service affirmed the long-term ratings of Ford Motor Company (B3 Corporate Family Rating, Ba3 senior secured, Caa1 senior unsecured, and B3 probability of default), but changed the rating outlook to Stable from Negative and raised the company's Speculative Grade Liquidity rating to SGL-1 from SGL-3. Moody's also affirmed Ford Motor Credit Company's B1 senior unsecured rating, and changed the outlook to Stable from Negative. These rating actions follow Ford's announcement of the details of the newly ratified four-year labor agreement with the UAW. |
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