The bidding war round the corner for Jaguar and Land Rover for an estimated price of $1.5 billion, which features Tata Motors Ltd, India''s biggest automobile company, and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd is symbolic of the evolving Indian businesses making a mark in the global market place, says Bundeep Singh Rangar, chairman, IndusView Advisors, the India-focused cross-border advisory firm.

The acquisition of Land Rover and Jaguar, the UK-based iconic marques owned by Ford Motor Company, the US-based world''s third largest automaker (behind GM and Japan''s Toyota) has the potential to raise the Indian automotive sector to the highest level to compete with sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) brands like Mitsubishi Pajero; Toyota''s Land Cruiser Prado and Highlander; Jeep Wrangler by American automaker Chrysler Group; Hummer from US-based General Motor Corp; among others on the one hand and luxury car manufacturers such as Audi AG, Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW), and Mercedes-Benz of Germany, etc, on the other.

India is on track to become the world''s third-biggest car manufacturing country by 2030 leaving behind the UK and Canada as a major car-producing country by 2008. Its car production capacity is expected to surpass 2 million units by 2008 from the current capacity of 1.4 million units. The country offers the benefit of cost-efficient manufacturing, world-class production skills and availability of quality manpower.

The Indian automotive sector, characteristically driven by traditional and conservative business conglomerates is under-going a fundamental shift as companies set out to unlock the benefits of global scale of operations exhibited by the increasing merger & acquisition (M&A) deals in the sector worth more than $515 million from 17 deals so far this year, ie almost equal to the value and volume of deals done by the sector in the whole of last year.

The show of growing ambition by the companies in the sector mirrors the growing aspirational value among consumers in the Indian market – not only to own a car, but also associate with a brand and upgrade to a luxury car, a segment that is growing at 25 per cent annually commanding a share of almost 27 per cent in the current sales.

Such aspirations have seen more than 5,000 luxury cars added to the Indian roads in 2006, up from 3,000 in 2005 and just 1,000 in 2004, according to estimates. It''s just a matter of time, before global luxury car brands Volkswagen, Lamborghini, Rolls Royce Phantom, Bentley, Porsche, Aston Martin and Ferrari roll out their India plans in full steam.

The bidding war round the corner for Jaguar and Land Rover, the UK-based iconic marques owned by Ford Motor Company, for an estimated price of $1.5 billion, which features Tata Motors Ltd, India''s biggest automobile company, and Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, tractor & utility vehicle manufacturer, among others is symbolic of the evolving Indian businesses making a mark in the global market place.

Between Tata Motors and Mahindra & Mahindra, whoever walks away with the deal, the moment will be historic as it will mark the automotive sector''s entry into the elite billion- dollar acquisitions club.

With the two cult luxury brands in its armory, the winner will see itself take the first steps in to the un-explored premium segment and expanding global market place, with niche patrons apart from a combined workforce of 20,000 and state-of-the-art engineering platforms.

The Indian partner on its part will bring on board the management expertise to save cost and improve production processes by virtue of coming from a country where economies of scale is the foundation of a profitable enterprise.

The other reason why this deal will be significant is that it will further reinforce the prominence of the Indo-UK merger & acquisitions deal activity which has already seen the country''s two of the largest deals – the acquisition of Hutchison Essar Ltd India''s second largest GSM mobile service provider by the UK''s Vodafone Group Plc and the acquisition of the UK''s largest steel maker Corus Group Plc by India''s Tata Steel Ltd.

India is the second largest job creator in Britain
The investments by India Inc. in Britain during the fiscal year 2006-07 has created 5,130 jobs, second to the US, according to the UK''s Department of Trade and Industry. In terms of the number of new projects, India has been ranked third with 69 new projects, after 540 new projects US projects and 95 new French projects.

According to Think London, an agency promoting investment into the city, Indian investment in the UK had gone up 111 per cent to 76 projects, creating almost 4,000 jobs during 2005-06. The Indian investment has contributed $67 million (£33 million) to the London economy in 2006-07.