Ford’s Bid for Jaguar Meant to Thwart GM, Report Says

Ford Motor Co.’s bid for a stake in Jaguar earlier this month was intended to thwart efforts by General Motors Corp. to acquire 30% of the British auto maker, a published report said Wednesday.

Officials at both Jaguar and GM declined comment on the report. But a spokesman for Ford said the auto maker had absolutely no firm information that GM was about to reach an agreement with Jaguar.

“The thrust of the story is that we did this because we got wind of the impending pact,” Ford spokesman Rex Greenslade said. “We did not have knowledge that GM was about to do a deal.”

Top executives of GM reportedly met during the weekend of Sept. 16-17 to discuss the equity purchase in Jaguar, the Wall Street Journal said. This apparently spurred Ford into announcing two days later intentions to buy up to 15% of Jaguar--a move regarded as unwelcome by the luxury car maker.

Both GM’s and Ford’s interest are seen as a prelude to further equity purchases of Jaguar, which recently posted a sharp drop in profits for the first half of 1989 because of unfavorable exchange rates and a decline in U.S. sales.