Ex-Ford boss joins battle for car firms

Aug 10 2007 By Will Oliphant, Birmingham Mail

ANOTHER former Ford top dog has entered the bidding war for Jaguar and Land Rover.

Sir Nick Scheele, who was chief operating officer at Ford between 2001 and 2005, has joined up with private equity group Ripplewood Holdings.

It is one of a handful of groups looking to buy the iconic brands from Ford.

Ford's former chief executive Jacques Nasser, who bought Jaguar and Land Rover for the car giant seven years ago, is heading another bid from One Equity Partners - owned by JPMorgan Chase.

Nasser has been dubbed "Jacques the Knife" by some for his ruthless cost-cutting moves in the past.

He was due to visit the factories earlier this week in an attempt to woo unions, who fear that a sale will lead to widespread job losses at the plants, which are a major employer in the region. But unions have dismissed as "pure speculation" claims that they have been in meetings with anyone over the sale.

All private equity groups which registered an interest in the brands last month are now thought to be through to the second stage of negotiations.

They are thought to include TPG, Cerberus and Apollo with trade interest coming from Indian groups Tata and Mahindra & Mahindra.

It is understood the firms leading the bidding want Ford to retain a 30 to 50 per cent stake in Jaguar and Land Rover to ensure supply of engines and parts.