Russian billionaire 'considering bid for Jaguar'
Russia’s sixth richest man is considering whether to make a bid for struggling British car maker Jaguar, it was reported today.
Oleg Deripaska boasts an estimated £7.5bn (€11.11bn) fortune and is eager to expand his GAZ motor empire, claimed the Sunday Express.
The 38-year-old recently hooked up with former-Ford Europe head Martin Leach in a bid to spark the international development of GAZ, which is already Russia’s biggest carmaker.
The newspaper said Mr Deripaska would “not rule out” a bid for the car group, which currently employs around 8,000 people across the UK.
Ford acquired Jaguar for £1.6bn (€2.37bn) in 1989 and has invested heavily in the company and plants at Halewood, Merseyside, and Castle Bromwich in the Midlands.
But it has struggled to cope with a slowing in the motor market, fierce competition and spiralling raw material costs. Jaguar reported pre-tax losses of £429.3m (€635.84bn) for 2004.
However, in December, Ford underlined its commitment to the carmaker amid rumours it planned to sell the business by ploughing £1.2bn (€1.77bn) into the firm.
If Mr Deripaska does make an offer it will not be his first move into the UK motor industry.
Last month GAZ agreed to buy British vanmaker LDV, safeguarding 600 jobs at a plant in Birmingham with an additional promise to ramp up production.
The firm also said it planned to start making LDV vans in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, aiming to roll 20,000 vans off the production line per year in 2008.
A spokesman for Jaguar was unavailable for comment.
