Jaguar bidders to meet unions

JBidders for the two UK marquee brands""Jaguar and Land Rover""are slated to meet representatives of employee unions and also UK government officials on Wednesday, news channel CNBC-TV18 said without naming sources.

According to reports, Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra are in the race to buy the two brands from US-based Ford Motor.

Newspapers in the UK had earlier said bidders would make presentations this week to John Hutton, UK secretary of state for business and enterprise, besides meeting employee union officials.

The meeting with the UK unions is expected to cover jobs, potential factory closures, supply chain issues, pensions and a continuing commitment by Ford to the two brands through an equity stake.

Employee unions of both Jaguar and Land Rover are pressing the UK government for greater involvement in the sale of the two brands, which directly employ about 16,000 people, with a greater number reliant on the brands in their supply chain.

Although Tata Motors has acknowledged as having interests in the two brands, Mahindra & Mahindra is yet to make a formal announcement.

OneEquity, an US-based private equity firm, is also said to have evinced buying interest.

Mahindra & Mahindra is reported to have teamed with US private equity firm Apollo in pursuit of the Jaguar and Land Rover units, the Sunday Times said without naming sources.

Ford said it expects to complete the sale of its two luxury brands by early next year.