Today is a historic moment for Tata Motors, which has been negotiating the deal since January to buy Jaguar and Land Rover. Tata Motors buying out Jaguar and Land Rover for $2.3 billion has been hailed by domestic industry, including Tata’s competitors.
Indian TATA motors secured Jaguar and Land Rover by buying British luxury icons from Ford Motor Company for $2.3 billion, less than half what it paid in 1989 and 2000 respectively.
Ford acquired Jaguar in 1989 for $2.5 billion and Land Rover in 2000 for $2.73 billion as part of a European-luxury strategy it began by buying Aston Martin in 1987. It sold Aston last year, according to bloomberg.
Indian rating agency ICRA assigned highest credit quality rating (A1+) to Tata Motors Finance Ltd’s Rs 2,000 crore short term debt.
Earlier in this January ICRA had placed the company’s long-term and short-term ratings on negative watch.
Since Tata emerged as the preferred Jaguar and Land Rover acquisitions bidder, business and financial risk profile of the company is at high stake.
Tata Motors is seeking loans of about $3bn to fund its planned purchase of Ford Motor Co’s luxury UK brands Jaguar and Land Rover. Tata has assigned Citigroup and JPMorgan, its financial advisers on the acquisition.
(Jaguar XK Convertible in Liquid Silver – Photo Credit: jaguar)