Tata Motors-owned luxury car and SUV maker Jaguar Land Rover has launched a GBP1bn (US$1.6bn) bond to refinance its debt and for what the company describes as “general corporate purposes”.
The sale will take place in three parts, including a sterling bond and a dollar bond, both with a seven-year maturity. The third tranche will be a 10-year bond.
Analysts said, if successful, the bond would demonstrate JLR’s ability to raise funds without having to rely on the support of parent Tata which took on a US$3bn loan to buy JLR from Ford in 2008.
JLR, with 17,000 UK employees, moved back into profit last year and has announced plans to invest GBP5bn over the next five years in its three UK manufacturing operations to improve the quality of its products; some of the money will be used on engine technology to lower fuel consumption.
The company is also looking for a partner in China where it says it needs to build vehicles to take advantage of booming sales; it also needs a new engine plant, estimated to cost around GBP750,000, so that it can sever its final links with Ford, its current engine supplier (mainly from plants in Dagenham and Wales).

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