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LONDON - Bids for Ford's European luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover are set to land around the end of October or the beginning of November, people familiar with the matter said this week.
Potential bidders, including buyout firms One Equity Partners, Ripplewood, Terra Firma and TPG, as well as Indian carmaker Tata Motors, need more time to complete due diligence, the people said, adding there is no firm deadline for bids and they could be put back further.
Vulture fund Cerberus, which some of the people familiar with the matter had said in September may not bid for the brands because of its recent acquisition of Chrysler, is still in the process, the people said.
Ford CEO Alan Mulally said in July that an eventual sale of Jaguar and Land Rover was probable.
Ford, Terra Firma, Cerberus and Texas Pacific declined to comment.
Ford has been exploring the possible sale of the brands since June as it continues the strategic review of its global operations in which it sold Aston Martin in March.
Merrill Lynch analyst John Murphy at the time had valued the Ford and Land Rover brands at as much as $US1.5 billion combined.
- REUTERS
