1. What strategic reasons could Tata Motors have for acquiring Jaguar Land Rover?

2. Evaluate Ford’s decision to sell Jaguar Land Rover.

3. What lessons can be learned about acquiring companies from the way Tata Motors went about acquiring Jaguar Land Rover?

4. What are some of the risks that Tata Motors faces in making the acquisition work?

The case traces the history and circumstances around Tata Motors’ acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Company. Tata Motors Limited is India’s largest automobile company, with $14 billion in consolidated revenues in 2008. Jaguar and Land Rover were British icons, whose parent Ford Motor Company had fallen on lean times. To raise money and focus on its core brands, Ford Motor Company put Jaguar Land Rover up for sale, inviting bids from all over the world. 

Tata Motors had been a largely India-focused automobile company, with over 90% of its sales coming from that country. The acquisition was expected to provide Tata Motors a significant boost in its technological, manufacturing, and marketing capabilities, among other advantages. At the same time, the acquisition would cost the company more than $3 billion, which included the acquisition cost of $2.3 billion at a time when the financial crisis had just begun to ripple throughout the globe. In addition, Tata Motors had no experience in producing and marketing luxury vehicles. The case reviews the acquisition in the light of these advantages and challenges.