Ford’s British-based SUV-producing unit, Land Rover, could be about to gain control of an insolvent supplier being run by administrator KPMG International, according to a report in the British newspaper, The Daily Telegraph.
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The newspaper report says that Land Rover and KPMG are close to an agreement which would end the uncertainty over the supply of chassis for the Discovery model range.
Under the reported agreement, Land Rover would gain control of collapsed components company UPF-Thompson, which is the sole supplier of chassis frames for the Discovery.
The report says that Land Rover could be prepared to pay between £10m (US$14m) and £20m ($US28m) of UPF’s £50m (US$71m) debt in exchange for the replacement of KPMG with its preferred receiver.
The report adds that Land Rover will subsequently consider UPF’s options and engineer a management buy-out or a trade sale. GKN, a potential alternative supplier of Discovery chassis, could be involved in a trade sale.
Land Rover won a ruling in the British High Court last month seeking an injunction to prevent the receivers of bankrupt chassis supplier UPF-Thompson from halting supplies.
Land Rover has warned it will have to stop Discovery production and lay off more than 1,400 workers if it cannot source chassis.
KPMG has demanded payments of about £45m ($US64m) from the SUV maker to secure the future of UPF-Thompson.
