Not really they've agreed a price and are probaly too far along to back out. Also PE companies are unlikely to want to spend any money, even on profitable companies...
But Ford wouldn't want to scare off the one reliable potential customer by spinning too much of a yarn. If the JLR part of PAG really wasn't at least doing OK they would want rid of it anyway.
It is pretty easy to make a car company look good for one year - you just shift a load of capital costs into the previous or next year or stop spending on development.
That is exactly what BAe did with Rover Group.
As others have pointed out - Tata have not done the deal until they sign on the bottom line. Due Dilligence is when the real arguing starts and can throw all sorts of things up as it did with Alchemy/BMW over Rover in 2000.
If Ford can't sell them to TATA, a car maker with money. Then who can they sell them to? May Ford have seen JLR's profits and are trying to kill the deal?
If there is a problem, it must be down to the pension fund deficit or the licensing terms Ford are insisting on. All sides seemed to be happy about the deal otherwise, and don't forget Tata was prepared to pay a little over the odds for Corus, because they felt the company they were buying was sound.
I also doubt that Ford is backing out of selling due to JLR's improved profitability since the purpose of selling now is to reduce Ford's debt. If Ford don't sell to Tata, then they will get a lot less from the other bidders who are equity fund companies or Mahindra who are 50% funded by an equity fund company on whom they plan to dump Jaguar as soon as the sale is completed.
Maybe its the usual cut and thrust of negotiation.
Liverpool Echo reports that there is a delay in the likely date of completion, Ford don't want a share and elsewhere there are at least 20 other deals with Ford in the mix! So don't read anything into any dealay until it's official. Anyone involved in these sort of of deals knows that things can often go through wobbles, tantrums and walkouts before the signatures.
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