The lone American bidder, One Equity Partners, has allegedly submitted a bid in the same initial range, but have yet to submit a revised bid to compete with the Indian forms. Last week, Ken Gorin of the North American Jaguar Business Operations Council made news by warning Ford against selling either brand, particularly the storied Jaguar marquee, to Indian bidders, instead favoring One Equity Partners. According to the Wall Street Journal, Gorin claimed the sale to Indian bidders would "...throw a tremendous cast of doubt over the viability of the brand."

As an interesting footnote to the sole American bidder, the man leading One Equity Partners in its bid for the British brands is former Ford CEo Jacques Nasser, who was in charge of Ford during its acquisition of both in the late 1990s.

Regardless,Tata appears to have the lead in the race to acquire the brands from Ford, according to numerous sources, including the Hindustan Times, largely due to strong backing from labor unions and the firms experience with large-scale manufacturing. In direct opposition to the Jaguar Business Operations Council position on the sale, a group of some 60 dealer owners representing Jaguar and Land Rover workers claimed favor for Tata, one of India's most powerful conglomerates with vast experience in luxury operations.  Interestingly, Tata also already owns one of Britain's most iconic brands, Tetley Tea.

Ford previously announced the sale of both luxury brands is expected to be completed by the end of the year, leaving Swedish Volvo as its sole foreign brand.