On June 02, 2008, India-based Tata Motors completed the acquisition of the Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) units from the US-based auto manufacturer Ford Motor Company (Ford) for US$ 2.3 billion, on a cash free-debt free basis.
JLR was a part of Ford 's Premier Automotive Group (PAG) and were considered to be British icons. Jaguar was involved in the manufacture of high-end luxury cars, while Land Rover manufactured high-end SUVs
Forming a part of the purchase consideration were JLR 's manufacturing plants, two advanced design centres in the UK, national sales companies spanning across the world, and also licenses of all necessary intellectual property rights. Tata Motors had several major international acquisitions to its credit. It had acquired Tetley, South Korea-based Daewoo 's commercial vehicle unit, and Anglo-Dutch Steel maker Corus (Refer to Exhibit I for the details of the group 's international acquisitions). Tata Motors ' long-term strategy included consolidating its position in the domestic Indian market and expanding its international footprint by leveraging on in-house capabilities and products and also