Tata Motors mulls selling stake in JLR: Sources

NEW DELHI: Tata Motors is said to be exploring various options for its British luxury subsidiary Jaguar and Land Rover (JLR) ranging from selling minority stake sale to forming a joint venture.For this, the automaker is holding preliminary talks with potential advisors. Tatas may prefer to keep a control of JLR, ET Now said quoting agencies.The deliberations are at a early stage and discussions may not necessarily lead to a transaction, sources told agencies.Brexit, US-China trade war and signs of a slowdown in the global economy have hit JLR sales, putting pressure on earnings of Tata Motors.The reports have come at a time when global headwinds faced by Jaguar Land Rover dragged Tata Motors into losses in December quarter. At Rs 26,961-crore, Tata Motors losses for the quarter in fact were the highest-ever quarterly loss reported by any company on Dalal Street till date. The losses were largely caused by one-time exceptional non-cash charge for asset impairment of 3.1 billion pounds at its subsidiary JLR.JLR’s total debt increased to £4.66 billion in the third quarter of FY19 compared with £3.8 billion in the same quarter last year, while operating profits dropped to £2.2 billion. Consequently, the debt to EBITDA ratio of the company increased to 2.1 times from 1.3.Shares of Tata Motors jumped in a knee-jerk reaction to the report. Later, the scrip was trading 1.46 per cent higher at Rs 180.45.

from Economic Times https://ift.tt/2C0jIWf