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The three-horse race to acquire two of Britain's top car brands, Jaguar and Land Rover, is extremely close, but a preferred bidder could be announced shortly.
Two Indian companies, Tata Group and Mahindra & Mahindra, as well as the private equity company One Equity, whose bid team is led by the former Ford chief executive Jacques Nasser, are battling for control of two of Britain's most prestigious marquees.
The offers are said to be very similar, according to industry sources. The sale process is also said to have been complicated by divisions among Ford's top management over the structure of any deal.
Ford has never revealed the list of suitors for Jaguar and Land Rover, which, together with Volvo, form its Premier Automotive Group. Industry sources say it is a three-way struggle: Tata and One Equity have been leading contenders since Ford put the brands up for sale and Mahindra & Mahindra, which had been thought to have dropped out of the running, has made a strong return to the fray in recent weeks in alliance with the US buyout company Apollo.
The sales process is proving complex. Ford wants to retain the contract to supply engines to the two marques and there has been some concern that the winning bidder may want to shift more of the components supply. Such concerns apply particularly to the two Indian contenders.
Reports suggested that the government was seeking assurances from bidders on the issue of jobs. The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform declined to comment yesterday.
It is also suggested that Ford's president and chief executive, Alan Mullally, is pressing for a complete sale of the two brands but the chairman, Bill Ford, wants the company to retain a stake, as it did when it sold Aston Martin this year. Lewis Moody, the executive vice-president responsible for PAG, is said to be against a sale.
