DEARBORN, Mich., Aug. 20 — Ford Motor may have chosen the new owner for Jaguar and Land Rover by the time it reports its third-quarter results in October.
Ford expects offers for the two British brands to come in by Sept. 30, and could decide on the winning bidder within 10 days to two weeks after that, a person involved in the sale process said Monday. The person asked not to be identified because of the private nature of the discussions.
That is a little later than it looked as if Ford would sell the companies a few weeks ago. But the mid-October date makes logistical sense.
Last year, Ford reported its third-quarter financial results on Oct. 23.
It has not announced a reporting date yet for this year’s third quarter, but if it reports around the same time as last year, it may have a deal in hand for Jaguar and Land Rover.
“We have simply said that while we’ve set no timetable on these discussions, that we expect to come to a resolution by the end of this year, or early next year,” a Ford spokesman, Tom Hoyt, said Monday.
Even if the winning bidder is chosen by mid-October, the deal may not close by the end of 2007, the person involved in the sale process said.
One reason is the credit squeeze that has swept capital markets recently, causing some transactions to be delayed or fall apart.
That also could push down the selling price for the two brands.
Ford said this month that it was talking to “selected parties” about Land Rover and Jaguar and that it had begun a “strategic review” of Volvo, the Swedish carmaker. That was its first public acknowledgment that it wanted to shed that unit, which it bought in 1999. It bought Jaguar in 1990 and Land Rover in 2000.
Cerberus Capital Management, which bought the Chrysler Group from DaimlerChrysler this month, has acknowledged that it is among those taking a look at Land Rover and Jaguar.
Other possible bidders include TPG, the investment group run by investors David Bonderman and Jim Coulter, according to people with knowledge of the firm’s interest.
Ford expects offers for the two British brands to come in by Sept. 30, and could decide on the winning bidder within 10 days to two weeks after that, a person involved in the sale process said Monday. The person asked not to be identified because of the private nature of the discussions.
That is a little later than it looked as if Ford would sell the companies a few weeks ago. But the mid-October date makes logistical sense.
Last year, Ford reported its third-quarter financial results on Oct. 23.
It has not announced a reporting date yet for this year’s third quarter, but if it reports around the same time as last year, it may have a deal in hand for Jaguar and Land Rover.
“We have simply said that while we’ve set no timetable on these discussions, that we expect to come to a resolution by the end of this year, or early next year,” a Ford spokesman, Tom Hoyt, said Monday.
Even if the winning bidder is chosen by mid-October, the deal may not close by the end of 2007, the person involved in the sale process said.
One reason is the credit squeeze that has swept capital markets recently, causing some transactions to be delayed or fall apart.
That also could push down the selling price for the two brands.
Ford said this month that it was talking to “selected parties” about Land Rover and Jaguar and that it had begun a “strategic review” of Volvo, the Swedish carmaker. That was its first public acknowledgment that it wanted to shed that unit, which it bought in 1999. It bought Jaguar in 1990 and Land Rover in 2000.
Cerberus Capital Management, which bought the Chrysler Group from DaimlerChrysler this month, has acknowledged that it is among those taking a look at Land Rover and Jaguar.
Other possible bidders include TPG, the investment group run by investors David Bonderman and Jim Coulter, according to people with knowledge of the firm’s interest.
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