Abstract
In June 2008, Tata Motors announced that the acquisition of the iconic British brands (Appendix 1), Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR), was completed. Tata Motors acquired JLR from Ford for USD 2.3 billion. At that time, many analysts were skeptical about the acquisition of luxury European brands by an Indian company specialized in the low-cost cars market. However 5 years later JLR sales had soared to record levels and Tata Motors succeeded to integrate this acquisition and managed to turn it into a bright success.
In 2006, Ford reported a record loss of USD 12.7 billion; it is actually the worst financial result in the history of the group. For analysts the salvage the North American business was only possible by selling JLR. Several private equity firms and automobile manufacturers expressed their interest. Nevertheless Ford was more concerned about the future of JLR employees than the price they would receive for the shares of JLR. This concern was due to the fact that any massive layoffs would adversely affect JRL image in the UK, which was its second largest market. The choice fell on Tata Motors that already showed good track record at integrating acquisitions and managing its employees as well as keeping its promises to them in previous acquisitions.
