Ex-Ford chief will put buyout plans to Jaguar and Land Rover

Jacques Nasser, the former Ford chief executive, is to fly to Britain to visit the Land Rover and Jaguar factories as part of his attempt to buy back the iconic brands that he put together, The Times has learnt.

Mr Nasser, who bought Land Rover for Ford seven years ago, is expected to woo trade unions on his visit to the UK to gain their support for his bid with One Equity Partners, the private equity firm owned by JPMorgan Chase. Union leaders have urged the Government to block any sale to a private equity bidder, fearful that such a move could lead to widespread job losses.

Mr Nasser, 59, was known as “Jac the Knife” for his cost-cutting moves during his career at the American car giant. He served as chief executive between 1999 and 2001. The imminent visit comes as the private equity groups bidding for the two brands, which are being sold together, put pressure on Ford to retain a stake in them.

It is understood that they want Ford to keep a 30 per cent to 50 per cent holding in the business to ensure security of engines and parts supplies.

When Ford sold Aston Martin several months ago it kept a 15 per cent stake. However, its production links with Land Rover and Jaguar are far more interwoven. Sources believe that Ford will have to bow to the pressure to retain a significant stake if it wants to achieve a good price for the businesses. The factory visits for interested parties follow the handing over by Ford of large amounts of financial information about the two marques.

Jaguar and Land Rover are the backbone of Ford’s luxury stable, the Premier Automotive Group, which was set up by Mr Nasser. The bidders have also received a special vendor due diligence report, compiled by KPMG, which details the separation costs of extracting the two marques from Ford.

All the groups that registered an interest by the first deadline of July 19 have gone through to the second stage. They are believed to include the private equity groups TPG, Cerberus, Ripplewood, Apollo and One Equity Partners. Trade interest is thought to have been registered by the Indian groups Tata and Mahindra & Mahindra.

Sources said it was unlikely that this deal would be affected by current credit jitters because it is relatively small by buyout standards and is not expected to enter the next stage until September, when credit markets may have calmed.

Bidders are also thought to be encouraging Ford to retain a substantial stake in order to give the business a better chance of complying with an impending crackdown on emissions by Europe. Land Rovers and Jaguars emit more carbon than the 130 grammes per kilometre currently being proposed. Carmakers can usually offset the emissions of their larger cars if they also produce small, environmentally efficient cars.

Union leaders are preparing for another meeting with Ford later this week. A spokesman for Unite said: “We want Ford to agree that if they are going to sell Jaguar and Land Rover they ensure there is a long-term commitment to keeping production, research and development and stamping at existing facilities.”