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While most of the automotive press is reporting on Tata's acquisition of Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford's Premier Automotive Group, the fine print shows that the Indian automaker got a whole package of classic British marques to go along with them. In addition to Jaguar and Land Rover, Tata also acquired the rights to use the names of Rover, Daimler and Lanchester.

The Rover name previously belonged to BMW, which bought the Rover group 14 years ago. Although Shanghai (SAIC) bought the rights to produce Rover products, BMW refused to license the name to them (leaving SAIC to label its cars Roewe), instead selling it to Ford who secured the name to avoid confusion with Land Rover. The Daimler name, through an age-old licensing agreement with the Mercedes parent company, is used by Jaguar for a line of even more luxurious versions of its XJ sedan range. The Lanchester name is likewise attached to Jaguar, but having produced its first motor car in 1895, has laid dormant since 1956.

Although the three brands are barely in use, they transfer ownership to Tata along with Jaguar and Land Rover. The option will remain Tata's whether or not to utilize the names, but we wouldn't expect the Indian auto giant to lay out the cash to launch additional brands while it shoulders the financial burden of the $2.3 billion acquisition. We wouldn't be surprised, however, to see Tata license any of the names it can to help raise the funds.

[Source: Automotive News Europe – subscription required]

The word out of Mumbai this morning is that Tata will be going for "an outright purchase" of Jaguar and Land Rover when the ink dries on its buyout of the two automakers from Ford. It was originally assumed that Ford would still maintain a minority stake in both luxury marques, as it did with the sale of Aston Martin to Prodrive last year, but the Blue Oval boys have determined that the Tata is well equipped to take over both brands entirely. However, we're unsure if Tata has the infrastructure to supply Jag and L.R. with the necessary components, from drivetrains to switch knobs. We'll know more when the deal is sealed in the coming months.

[Source: Reuters]

Though Ford says no announcement will be made about what company will end up with Jaguar and Land Rover until 2008, Automotive News says that three bidders remain in the running.

India's Tata Motors, and Mahindra & Mahindra and U.S. private equity firm One Equity Partners are all still interested, but one, Tata, looks to be the most likely candidate to take home Jaguar and Land Rover.

The Birmingham Post had expected an announcement as early as today saying Tata Motors will pay as much as $2 billion for Jag and Land Rover. But a Ford spokesman tells BusinessWeek that the company won't say anything about a possible deal until after the new year.

[Source: Automotive News - Sub. Req., BusinessWeek]

Britain's Birmingham Post newspaper has gone out on a limb and reported that Tata Motors will be named the winning bid for Jaguar and Land Rover as soon as tomorrow – Friday, December 21st. Neither the seller, Ford, nor the buyer, Tata, have confirmed that an announcement will be made tomorrow, and in fact Ford has repeatedly said that a buyer will not be named until early next year. The British paper reiterates the same estimate we've heard before, that Tata will be doling out around £1 billion, or $2 billion USD, for the right to own these two storied brands. Of course, we'll let you know tomorrow if the announcement does actually happen.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]