Package Deal: Tata buys 5 British marques for the price of 2

While most of the automotive press is reporting on Tata's acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford's Premier Automotive Group, the fine print shows that the Indian automaker got a whole package of classic British marques to go along with them. In addition to Jaguar and Land Rover, Tata also acquired the rights to use the names of Rover, Daimler and Lanchester.The Rover name previously belonged to BMW, which bought the Rover group 14 years ago. Although Shanghai (SAIC) bought the rights to produce Rover products, BMW refused to license the name to them (leaving SAIC to label its cars Roewe), instead selling it to Ford who secured the name to avoid confusion with Land Rover. The Daimler name, through an age-old licensing agreement with the Mercedes parent company, is used by Jaguar for a line of even more luxurious versions of its XJ sedan range. The Lanchester name is likewise attached to Jaguar, but having produced its first motor car in 1895, has laid dormant since 1956. Although the three brands are barely in use, they transfer ownership to Tata along with Jaguar and Land Rover. The option will remain Tata's whether or not to utilize the names, but we wouldn't expect the Indian auto giant to lay out the cash to launch additional brands while it shoulders the financial burden of the $2.3 billion acquisition. We wouldn't be surprised, however, to see Tata license any of the names it can to help raise the funds.


[ Via: Automotive News Europe ]
[ Tag: daimler,jaguar land rover,JaguarLandRover,lanchester,rover,tata jaguar,tata land rover,TataJaguar,TataLandRover ]

E.U. officials clear sale of Jaguar, Land Rover to Tata

In what seems like an official bookend to the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford to Tata, the European Union, like the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, has given its official seal of approval to the deal. The E.U. had received no complaints regarding the impending purchase, so approval of the $2.3 billion deal had been expected. In fact, the "simplified procedure" used by the European Commission has never ended up with anything but acceptance. No more speed bumps appear ahead of the Indian automaker, which previously had specialized in small and inexpensive vehicles. Now that these formalities are over and done with, hopefully we can simply look forward to what an injection of cash can do to the two classic British marques.


[ Via: Automotive News ]
[ Tag: european commission, european union, european-commission, european-union, EuropeanCommission, EuropeanUnion, jaguar, land rover, land-rover, LandRover, tata ]

US federal regulators clear Jag/Land Rover sale

What a world we live in when an Indian company needs US government approval to buy two British companies. No sweat off of Tata's brow, though, as federal antitrust regulators cleared the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover, which Ford is selling to the Indian automaker. The transaction was reviewed by the US Federal Trade Commission to ensure no antitrust issues would arise, but the procedural review ultimately yielded no cause to block the sale. Congratulations, Tata.

[ Via: Automotive News ]
[ Tag: tata buy land rover jaguar,TataBuyLandRoverJaguar,us federal antitrust jaguar land rover,UsFederalAntitrustJaguarLandRover ]