Ford names the date for selling off its Jaguar and Land Rover sectors. Robert Wrightreports
Potential bidders for the Jaguar and Land Rover car businesses have been told they have until July 19th to submit indicative bids for the two British car brands, according to people familiar with Ford's plans to sell the businesses. However, any sale could still be some time off because Ford has not yet prepared full documentation on the two brands, whose operations are closely interlinked and which also have complex relationships with the wider Ford group.
Ford's plans to sell the two prestige marques became public last month.
Land Rover has enjoyed a revival of fortunes recently and is profitable, while Jaguar remains lossmaking.
Bids are expected to come predominantly from private equity bidders, since large carmakers - many of whom are struggling with significant capacity and cost problems - are reluctant to take on fresh challenges.
The deadline was revealed in the weekend's Sunday Times and confirmed by people familiar with the sell-off process.
No one would comment publicly on the process. Among the funds to have received information from Ford's advisers on the sale are thought to be Cerberus Capital Management, which paid $7.4billion (€5.43 billion) in May for DaimlerChrysler's US-based Chrysler business; Ripplewood Holdings; and One Equity Partners.
One Equity's partners include Jac Nasser, the former chief executive of Ford, during whose reign Ford's Premier Automotive Group, of which the two British brands are part, was established.
Ford would prefer to sell the two brands - which share many central common management functions - together, but it has made preparations to sell them separately if necessary.
The sell-off process is likely to prove challenging.
The two brands together sell only 300,000 cars annually, meaning they are likely to remain dependent on Ford for engines and some other technical assistance.
Both have been dogged by problems over their products' quality.
They also face significant spending to reduce the emissions of their cars to meet tougher environmental requirements in many countries.