Tata close to Ford deal

Indian company Tata has moved a step closer to the takeover of luxury UK marquees Jaguar and Land Rover.

The companies are presently owned by American manufacturer Ford, but the giant offered the two brands as a joint package in June last year, following a review of its assets.

While Tata was announced as the preferred bidder by the Jaguar and Land Rover trade union Unite late last year, the company has now moved one step closer to completing the deal.

Today Ford said the company had now officially selected Tata as its preferred bidder, and has committed to talks "at a more detailed level" with the company over the potential sale.

"There is still considerable work to do and while no final decision has been made, we will proceed with further substantive discussions with Tata Motors over the forthcoming weeks," commented Lewis Booth, Ford executive vice president with responsibility for Ford Europe.

Commenting on the position a Tata spokesperson added: "We are pleased by the progress in the discussions to date and very positive about the prospects of this business going forward."

However, the deal still faces a challenge from other bidders, with Indian company Mahindra & Mahindra still in the race.

Yet, the position of One Equity, a subsidiary of the US bank JP Morgan Chase, appears to have run into trouble after the credit crunch in global financial markets reduced the chances of an equity financed bid.