Get your bidding in: today is the deadline for bids on Ford ’s soon-to-be-gone British brands, Jaguar and Land Rover . The automaker says it’s expecting up to six bids, although one of those six has previously stated that it doesn’t intend to make an offer.
Ford says that three private equity firms and three automakers are expected to bid. Joining Ripplewood Holdings and One Equity Partners is Cerberus Capital Management, the firm that recently purchased Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler.
Ford says that three automakers have expressed an intention to bid: Hyundai Motor and two Indian firms, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, according to Automotive News. Ford’s statement directly contradicts previous reports that Hyundai, like Nissan and Renault, had decided they were not interested.
The Daily Telegraph says that Tata Motors is just in the “exploratory” stage and that a formal bid may or may not happen.
A representative for Citigroup, not one of the three banks Ford is using to complete the sale, said that Ford could get as much as $8 billion for Jaguar and Land Rover . But he also said that if Ford decided to sell its Swedish unit, Volvo , that sale could net as much as $7 billion on its own.
