Prepares map for more flexible, lower breakeven, self-sustaining brands.
Some serious cost-cutting has resulted in significantly lower losses at JLR.
Tata Indica, the Tata Group's big passenger car bet, was not delivering expected returns a year into its launch. Desperate, the Tata Motors brass, led by Ratan Tata, acceded to a meeting request from Ford Motors for a possible sale of the passenger vehicles division to the American auto major. Some people had advised Tata to sell the business, and the Ford officials came to Bombay House to hold talks.
The Tata Group is one of the very few Indian MNCs which has carved out a niche in China's highly competitive market, notes Rup Narayan Das.
Ratan Tata was one of the world's most influential industrialists yet he never appeared on any list of billionaires. He controlled over 30 companies that operated in over 100 countries across six continents yet lived an unpretentious life. Ratan Naval Tata, who died at a Mumbai hospital on Wednesday night at the age of 86 years, enjoyed a perhaps unique status -- a corporate titan who was considered a 'secular living saint' with a reputation for decency and integrity.
Tata Motors, say sources, instructed advisers in the past fortnight to begin evaluating the merits of a joint offer for Jaguar and Land Rover.
Come Sunday, India's automobile industry will achieve a unique distinction of showcasing both the world's cheapest car Nano and two of the costliest brands -- Jaguar and Land Rover -- from the Tata Group.
"Tata Motors, which is engaged in focused and detailed negotiations with Ford on the Jaguar Land Rover business, clarifies that the company has had no discussions with Fiat on deployment of technologies developed by Jaguar and Land Rover," the Mumbai-based company said in a statement.
They were touted as prestigious takeover trophies won abroad, but there is no mention of the Tatas at the Internet addresses of luxurious car brands Jaguar and Land Rover.
"The process (of raising the amount) is over. Tata will borrow the money from us (the banks consortium) on Monday and might come with an official announcement in the next few days," a source close to the development told PTI. Tatas had entered into a definitive agreement with Ford to buy Jaguar and Land Rover in March for $2.3 billion. The $3 billion fund raising included Tata Motor's other committements as well.
Not wanting to alienate other suitors including Mahindras, Ford may wait till the new year to announce the winner for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands, although Indian conglomerate Tatas have emerged as the top choice, media reports said in London on Friday. "Tata Motors is set to be chosen by Ford as the preferred bidder for Jaguar and Land Rover as early as Friday," a report in Financial Times said quoting people close to the situation.
Leading Indian public sector banks State Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Syndicate Bank are close to committing a part of the $3 billion bridge loan that Tata Motors has to raise to finance the acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford.
Indian conglomerate Tata and US car maker Ford are expected to complete the deal of the latter's luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover within a few days, a media report said on Monday. According to The Guardian newspaper, Ford is expected to complete the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata "within a few days." However, neither side has put a price on the marques. The price tag is likely to get closer to $ 2 billion. The deal was prolonged due to complexities in the agreement.
India's wrestlers received a welcome boost ahead of this month's Asian Games after the federation got automaker Tata Motors as their principal sponsor on Wednesday.
Some of the new products targeted at launch are the all-new Defender.
The race to become India's top luxury car company has heated up, with Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) planning launches and local research and development (R&D) facilities to take on German rivals BMW, Audi and Mercedes.
Jaguar Land Rover is planning to launch the stunning F-Type in India in July. The Freelander 2 is set to hit the market soon, too.
Tata Motors-owned British luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover is planning to expand its dealership network from 15 to 20, targeting tier-II cities like Bangalore, Surat and Aurangabad.
The country top automaker, Tata Motors, launched its marquee car brands Jaguar and Land Rover in India on Sunday. It had acquired these brands from US car maker Ford. The company promises that the two brands would give the Indian public an opportunity to experience the 'pleasure of driving superior technology.'
Tata Motors, part of the $100 billion Tata conglomerate, said consolidated net profit for the April-June quarter rose to 53.98 billion rupees ($882.31 million) compared with Rs 17.68 billion a year ago.
Auto major Tata Motors on Monday said it appointed Carl-Peter Forster as the new group chief executive of the company.
The issue comprising 'A' ordinary shares aggregating $550 million and ordinary shares aggregating $200 million has been subscribed 3.4 times, Tata Motors said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange.
"Goss, 53, will have overall responsibility for the National Sales Company operations of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands in the United States and Canada," the company said in a statement.
Four new products under the Jaguar brand are under development.
The country's largest auto company reported a total sales of 75,775 units across its various international operations, which include Tata Motors, Tata Daewoo and the Hispano Carrocera range of commercial vehicles, Tata passenger vehicles and the British marquee brands Jaguar Land Rover.
Dismissing adverse comments on Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) buy, Ratan Tata on Tuesday said the $2.3-billion acquisition of the iconic brands was 'worthwhile' though the subsequent financial crisis posed challenges.
In yet another major Indian takeover, Religare, a financial services company owned by prominent businessmen Malvinder and Shivinder Singh bought London's oldest stockbroker, Hichens, Harrison & Co on Friday. The deal is seen as another example of India's growing economic clout overseas. Two weeks ago, Tata Motors bought the prestigious Jaguar and Land rover models from Ford.
Top Indian businessmen are increasingly making investments abroad. They are eyeing acquisitions abroad for a number of reasons including global reach and international market penetration. But the Indian business environment is also a chief cause. Many businessmen regard Indian biz scene stifling & not open enough for free growth. The likes of Vijay Mallya and the Ruias have therefore become technically become non-resident Indians even while they run large businesses in India.
Industrial conglomerate Tata group has spent $ 133 million in advisory fees related to various buyouts in the last two years, according to data compiled by leading global financial information provider Dealogic. The group has acquired as many as 56 businesses with a total volume of $ 20.6 billion in the last two years, accounting for 82 per cent of their total merger & acquisition volume. Since the year 2002 the Tata group has made as many as 106 acquisitions valued at $ 2mn.
The exercise part of drive to combine operations under single firm.
Tata Motors, which owns Jaguar and Land Rover, is in talks with the UK government on assistance for the luxury units as sales have plummeted.
Jaguar and Land Rover, the UK based carmakers, are to set up dealership networks in India soon as they seek to use ties with Tata Motors, their new owner, to find new markets.
JLR sees job cut if the situation does not improve.
Sales of luxury brands from Jaguar Land Rover were at 20,358 units during June, up one per cent from the same month last year.
The question is: Will the company have a strong balance sheet to support this massive investment plan?
Tata Motors, India's largest commercial vehicle maker, is in the process of raising Rs 5,000 crore through a bond issue to refinance the remaining $ 2 billion (Rs 10,000 crore) bridge loan it took to acquire Jaguar and Land Rover.
Tata Motors on Friday reported an 84 per cent jump in its global sales at 74,707 units for December 2008, compared to the corresponding month in 2008. The company also posted 137 per cent surge in the sale of its commercial vehicles at 37,326 units in December 2009, it said in a statement. During the month under review, it sold 16,247 units of passenger vehicles, up by 53 per cent, against the same month previous year, it added.
Geoff Polites, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover who is credited with successfully turning around the company and steering it through its $2.3 billion sale to Tata Motors, has died.Polites, 60, breathed his last in Melbourne after battling serious illness for two years. Ford Australia president Bill Osborne said Polites had battled ill health for the past two years but remained determined to return the Ford-owned Jaguar and Land Rover brands to profitability.
Tata Motors' luxury automotive brand, Jaguar, bagged a three-year order to supply 13,000 units of its range to a Chinese company earlier this year. Its Land Rover, jointly with Jaguar, is charting new territories for expansion.
For years, critics termed Tata's vehicle business as a millstone around the neck. But Group chairman Ratan Tata on Wednesday flattened their theory by taking the automobile venture to a new plane with the acquisition of British luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover.
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