Ford News

FORD MOTOR COMPANY ANNOUNCES AGREEMENT TO SELL JAGUAR LAND ROVER
TO TATA MOTORS

DEARBORN, Mich., March 26, 2008 – Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F] announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Jaguar Land Rover operations to Tata Motors.

The transaction is the culmination of Ford's decision last August to explore strategic options for the Jaguar Land Rover business, as the company accelerates its focus on its core Ford brand and "One Ford" global transformation.

The sale is expected to close by the end of the next quarter and is subject to customary closing conditions, including receipt of applicable regulatory approvals.

The total amount to be paid in cash by Tata Motors for Jaguar Land Rover upon closing will be approximately US $2.3 billion. At closing, Ford will then contribute up to approximately US $600 million to the Jaguar Land Rover pension plans.

"Jaguar and Land Rover are terrific brands," said Alan Mulally, president and CEO, Ford Motor Company. "We are confident that they are leaving our fold with the products, plan and team to continue to thrive under Tata's stewardship. Now, it is time for Ford to concentrate on integrating the Ford brand globally, as we implement our plan to create a strong Ford Motor Company that delivers profitable growth for all."

"This is a good agreement. It provides the Jaguar Land Rover management team and employees with the assurances needed to maintain their focus on delivering the best results for the business," said Lewis Booth, executive vice president, Ford Motor Company, who has responsibility for Ford of Europe, Volvo and Jaguar Land Rover. "I am confident that, under its new owner, Jaguar Land Rover will continue to build upon the significant improvements and product successes it has achieved in recent years."

As part of the transaction, Ford will continue to supply Jaguar Land Rover for differing periods with powertrains, stampings and other vehicle components, in addition to a variety of technologies, such as environmental and platform technologies. Ford also has committed to provide engineering support, including research and development, plus information technology, accounting and other services.

In addition, Ford Motor Credit Company will provide financing for Jaguar and Land Rover dealers and customers during a transitional period, which can vary by market, of up to 12 months.

The parties believe these arrangements will support Jaguar Land Rover's current product plans, while providing Jaguar Land Rover freedom to develop its own stand-alone capabilities in the future that will best serve its premium manufacturer requirements.

The parties do not anticipate any significant changes to Jaguar Land Rover employees' terms of employment on completion.

Speaking about today's agreement, Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of Tata Sons and Tata Motors, commented: "We are very pleased at the prospect of Jaguar and Land Rover being a significant part of our automotive business. We have enormous respect for the two brands and will endeavor to preserve and build on their heritage and competitiveness, keeping their identities intact. We aim to support their growth, while holding true to our principles of allowing the management and employees to bring their experience and expertise to bear on the growth of the business."

Jaguar Land Rover's employees, trade unions and the UK Government have been kept informed of developments as the sale process progressed and have indicated their support for the agreement.

Speaking on behalf of Jaguar Land Rover, Geoff Polites, chief executive officer, said: "Jaguar Land Rover's management team is very pleased that Ford and Tata Motors have come to an agreement today. Our team has been consulted extensively on the deal content and feels confident that it provides for the business needs of both our brands going forward.

"We have also had the opportunity to meet senior executives from Tata Motors and the Tata group," Polites continued. "They have expressed confidence in the team that has delivered significant improvements in Jaguar Land Rover's business performance. We feel confident that we can forge a strong working relationship with our new parent company, and we look forward to a bright and successful future for Jaguar Land Rover."

Ford Motor Company [NYSE: F]
Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Michigan, United States, manufactures or distributes automobiles in 200 markets across six continents. With about 230,000 employees and about 100 plants worldwide, the company's core and affiliated automotive brands include Ford, Lincoln, Mercury, Volvo and Mazda. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford's products, please visit www.ford.com.

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The Tata Group is India's largest conglomerate company, with revenues in 2005-06 of Rs. 967,229 million (US $21.9 billion), the equivalent of about 2.8% of India's GDP, and a market capitalisation of US $57.6 billion now (only 28 of the 96 Tata Group companies are publicly listed). The Tata Group has operations in more than 40 countries across six continents and its companies export products and services to 140 nations. The group takes the name of its founder, Jamsetji Tata, a member of whose family has almost invariably been the chairman of the group. The current chairman of the Tata group is Ratan Tata, who took over from J. R. D. Tata in 1991. The company is currently in its fifth generation of family stewardship.

The Tata Group comprises 96 companies in seven business sectors. 65.8% of the ownership of Tata Group is held by the charitable trust of Tata.

Type Private Conglomerate (BSE)
Founded in 1868 by Jamshedji Tata
Headquarters Mumbai, Maharastra, India

Revenue USD 21.9 billion (FY 2005)(up 3.2%)
Employees 246,000 (2004)

Industry:
         Engineering
         Materials
         Information technology
         Communication
         Automotive
         Chemicals
         Energy
Products:
         Steel
         Automobiles
         Telecommunications
         Software
         Hotels
         Consumer goods

History
Jamshedji Tata came from a Parsi business family and made his fortune from cloth mills in the interior of Maharashtra. He was well travelled and went in for modern industry for India. He constructed a hotel in Bombay, the Taj Mahal Hotel, in 1903. It was the first large hotel in India, and was set up because established hotels of the time were owned by Europeans and did not allow locals. The Indian Hotels Company is a Tata group company that runs the Taj brand of hotels.

TISCO, now Tata Steel was established in 1907 to set up India's first iron and steel plant in Jamshedpur (Named after Tata's founder, Jamshedji Tata) which is often called Tatanagar for the company's significant presence. The plant started production in 1912. It produces steel at one of the lowest costs in the world, assisted by the Group's ownership of its own raw materials (coal and iron), which means that its cost base is far lower than many rival steel producers. In 1910, Tata Hydro-Electric Power Supply Company was set up for providing cheap and abundant power to the city of Mumbai. In 1917, the Group entered the consumer goods industry with the Tata Oil Mill Company being established to make soaps, detergents and cooking oils. In 1932, Tata Airlines, now Air India, was established. In 1939, Tata Chemicals was established. TELCO, now Tata Motors, was established in 1945 to manufacture locomotive and engineering products.

On January 30, 2007, Tata Steel, part of India's Tata Group, offered to purchase 100% stake in the Corus Group at 608 p. per share in an all cash deal, cumulatively valued at USD 12.04 Billion. This deal was also the biggest acquisition by any Indian company till date.

Tata surprised the credit default swap segment of the derivative markets by deciding to raise $6.17 billion of debt for the deal through a new subsidiary of Corus called "Tata Steel UK", rather than by raising the debt itself. Tata's security credit rating is investment grade, whereas the new subsidiary may not be. The higher risk associated with raising debt through a subsidiary with a lower credit rating prompted Fitch Ratings to downgrade its rating of the credit swap risks in the takeover to "negative". Fitch also stated that Corus' responsibility for the debt may lead to Corus' own unsecured debt rating being downgraded.

Business and values
Tata Group's aim is to improve the quality of life of the communities it serves. The Tata family of companies shares a set of five core values: integrity, understanding, excellence, unity and responsibility. Tata Group has played a pioneering role in a variety of fields after India's independence. It is widely respected for the initiatives it has taken in different fields for the upliftment of the country. Its contribution to India's education, science and technology is widely documented and appreciated. In fact many of the renowned public sector companies in India and leading research organisations trace their history to Tata, for example Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Tata Institute Of Social Sciences(TISS), TERI (Tata Energy Research Institute), Air India (Tata Airlines)

Engineering
TAL Manufacturing Solutions
Tata Autocomp Systems Ltd (TACO) was established in 1995 to spearhead Tata Group's foray into autocomponents. It is now, one of the fastest growing auto-components companies. TACO has established joint ventures with a number of world renowned auto-component companies, and has its own businesses in India, Europe, US, China and Japan.
Tata Motors (formerly Tata Engineering and Locomotives Ltd (TELCO)) is a company of Tata group of companies which produces automobiles for the Indian Market. Its products range for goods and passenger transport. Seven out of ten medium and heavy commercial vehicles in India bear the Tata mark, widely trusted in India. The Indica V2 – India's only fully indigenously designed and manufactured passenger car – has been a great commercial success.
Tata Motors has shown serious interest in buying the British car makers Land Rover and Jaguar from Ford Motor Company.
Tata Projects
TCE Consulting Engineers
Telco Construction Equipment Company
TRF
Voltas

Materials
Tata Advanced Materials
Tata Steel (formerly TISCO, Tata Iron and Steel Company Ltd) is India's first private Iron and Steel Company, and also the first company founded by J.N. Tata (the founder of the Tata Group). Its works are located at Jamshedpur, with headquarters at Mumbai. It is currently the largest steel producer in India and the fifth largest in the world.
On January 30, 2007 the Tata Steel clinched a deal to buy the UK based Corus Group Plc., one of the world's leading steel and aluminium producers, for £6.7 billion, beating CSN in a fast-paced auction to create the world's fifth largest steelmaker. The company emerged victorious with a bid of 608p a share, topping a 603p a share offer from Brazil's Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (CSN), after an unprecedented nine rounds of bidding overseen by the UK's Takeover Panel. The £6.7 billion deal includes £500 million of debt.
The acquisition of Corus steel is recognized as the biggest ever acquisition involving an Indian company.
Tayo Rolls, India's largest roll manufacturer and supplier.
Tata Tinplate, a major tinning line in India.

Energy
Tata Power is one of the largest private sector power companies. It supplies power to Mumbai, the commercial capital of India and parts of New Delhi.

Chemicals
Rallis India
Tata Chemicals
Tata Chemcials Ltd is a Tata Group Company (India) with plant locations in Mithapur (Gujarat State, India) amongst other places. It is headquartered in Mumbai, India.

Tata Chemicals has the largest single soda ash production capacity plant in India. This was the second soda ash plant built in India by Shri Kapilram Vakil and started in the year 1944. Mithapur is named after salt, in Gujarati language salt is named as "Mithu."

Since 2006 Tata Chemicals has owned Brunner Mond, a United Kingdom-based chemical company with operations in Kenya and The Netherlands

Services
The Indian Hotels Company
THDC
Tata-AIG General Insurance
Tata-AIG Life Insurance
Tata Asset Management
Tata Economic Consultancy Services
Tata Financial Services
Tata Investment Corporation
Tata Quality Management Services
Tata Share Registry
Tata Strategic Management Group (TSMG) is one of the largest consulting firms in South Asia.
Tata Services

Consumer Products
Tata Ceramics
Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Company
Tata Tea Limited is the world's second largest manufacturer of packaged tea and tea products. It also owns the Tetley brand of tea sold primarily in Europe.
Titan Industries manufacturers of Titan (watches)
Trent (Westside)
Tata Sky

Information systems and communications
Computational Research Laboratories (CRL)
INCAT
Nelco
Nelito Systems
SerWizSol
Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. (TCS) is Asia's largest software company with 2006-07 revenues being over US$ 4.3 bn.
Tata Elxsi is another Software and Industrial design company of the Tata stable. Based in Bangalore. One of the leading companies in the animation industry of India.
Tata Interactive Systems
Tata Technologies Limited
Tata Teleservices
Tatanet
VSNL, the Indian telecom giant, was acquired in 2002. Tata-owned VSNL acquired Bermuda-based (former Canadian crown corporation and Montreal-based) Teleglobe in 2005

Safe Harbor

Statements included herein may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements are based on expectations, forecasts and assumptions by management and involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated. We cannot be certain that any expectation, forecast or assumption made by management in preparing these forward-looking statements will prove accurate, or that any projection will be realized. More detailed information about these and other factors that could affect future results is contained in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Our forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of their initial issuance, and we do not undertake any obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.. source for this story is ford motor company. information on Tata Motors Limited and Tata Group from Wikipedia