Jaguar Land Rover owner assures UK PM of long-term intent; Geely denies takeover interest
Jaguar Land Rover’s owner, India-based Tata Sons, has informed British prime minister Theresa May it has no plans to sell the UK-based car business, The Sunday Times reported. Tata chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran wrote to May to assure her of the Indian company’s long-term ownership and plans for continued investment in the business, the report said.
Sources said the assurance was intended to assuage any fears over Tata’s commitment to its British operations, with an eye to future government backing for driverless and electric technology, as well as a planned battery plant to be constructed in the Midlands, the item reported.
Tata paid USD 2.3bn (then GBP 1.15bn) to acquire JLR from Ford [NYSE:F] a decade ago. Despite turning the business around, JLR has suffered in the past few months amid falling consumer confidence, a plummeting market in China, declining sales of diesel and Brexit uncertainty, the report pointed out.
The company has also been the topic of takeover speculation, with China-based GeelyAutomobile [HKG:0175] tipped as a potential acquirer, the item noted. Chandrasekaran’s letter is thought also to have been aimed at defusing that chatter, the report said.
Geely yesterday said it has not entered discussions with Tata and is not interested in the acquisition of JLR, the item reported. Tata confirmed JLR is not for sale and did not wish to discuss the letter, the report said.
The original article appeared in The Sunday Times, Business & Money section, pages 1, 2