Tata Motors of India has bought Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co. But before the sale, the buzz seemed to have given license to pundits to start criticizing.

Many pundits are still saying that Tata is not getting a bargain. This is even though it is paying half of what Ford paid to buy the two British-based companies. Apparently, say reports, Ford is paying $600 million to support the pension plans of both companies.

It's bad enough that Ford had paid too much for Jaguar and Land Rover. Reports are that as much as $11 billion to $13 billion have been spent for preserving the two brands. So, it becomes clearer why Ford had to sell the companies that were once a part of its Premium Auto Group.

Our thoughts? For one to consider allowing Land Rover and Jaguar to go “bust” is a little premature. Sure, Ford had its troubles with the troublesome twosome. Still, Jaguar and Land Rover are icons and important to the realm of Great Britain and even the world (especially Land Rover). And both companies showed improvement in sales during the last year or so. Maybe Tata has the formula to keep things going and thus allow them to grow.

Note that the acquisition of Land Rover and Jaguar is not all that Tata has purchased. The conglomerate that owns Tata Motors Group recently acquired Tetley Tea and the Pierre Hotel in New York.

via biz community