P.M. BRIEFING : Ford Doubles Share in Jaguar

Ford Motor Co. snapped up millions of bargain-value shares in Britain’s luxury car firm Jaguar as stock prices tumbled worldwide, the company disclosed today.

Ford, which is vying for the prestigious Jaguar name with rival General Motors, said today it has doubled its share to 10.4%.

Ford said it had bought or agreed to buy 19.04 million Jaguar shares by the end of trading Monday when prices slumped by the biggest margin since the Black Monday crash of October, 1987.

Ford, the world’s No. 2 car maker, has said it aims to boost its stake in Jaguar to 15%, the maximum allowed by Britain’s Conservative government when it privatized the former state-run firm in 1984. That special “golden share” blocking rule runs out in 1990.