Tata's buy of Jaguar and Land Rover cleared by EU

Fri Apr 25, 2008 1:09pm BST

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BRUSSELS (Reuters) - India's Tata Motors Ltd (TAMO.BO) received the green light from European Union competition authorities on Friday to buy luxury brands Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Co (F.N) for $2.3 billion (1.2 billion pounds).

The decision by the EU's executive European Commission was a foregone conclusion as it was carried out under the so-called "simplified procedure", which always results in approval.

Simplified procedure is used when the Commission receives no complaints from competitors or customers.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said on Wednesday that it had approved the deal.

The transaction, announced by Tata in March, will give the Indian automaker a line-up of products ranging from the world's cheapest car to some of the most expensive.

(Reporting by David Lawsky; Editing by Dale Hudson)

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