LONDON: Tata Motors, India's biggest automobile company, is understood to be in early stages of evaluating a bid for acquiring the Jaguar and Land Rover marques from Ford Motor, British media reports said.Tata Motors is understood to have instructed advisers in the past fortnight to begin evaluating the merits of a joint offer for Jaguar and Land Rover, which have been earmarked for disposal by struggling American car giant Ford, 'The Daily Telegraph' said.

If successful, it would rank among India's biggest overseas takeover deals, the report said, citing unidentified sources.When contacted, a Tata Motors spokesperson told PTI: "We have absolutely no comments to make." Tata Group has been involved in major overseas takeovers in recent times, including the 6.7 billion pound acquisition of Anglo-Dutch steel company Corus through Tata Steel earlier this year."Analysts suggest that Jaguar and Land Rover may fetch about 1.5 billion dollar to Ford. Besides, people close to the situation said that Tata Motors' evaluation of a bid was at an 'exploratory' stage and may not lead to a formal bid for the two brands," the Telegraph said.

The report also said Tata Motors is understood to have signed a confidentiality agreement with Ford in recent days.Besides Tata, other car makers may be interested in bidding, while a formal auction would also be likely to attract private equity firms, it added. Ford confirmed it has received bids from some companies for acquiring its marques Jaguar and Land Rover- the two famous brands in which India's Tata group has been reported to be interested."Ford and its financial advisers have had contacts from third parties and they are actively evaluating those as part of Ford's strategic review.

These are preliminary discussions only and no decisions have been made," Ford spokesperson John Gardiner said in an e-mailed statement.Asked about reports of Tata Motors being interested, he said: "I cannot provide any guidance on names of interested parties, numbers of interested parties, or a time-line." In June, the company had said it was working with its financial advisors to determine the best future for Jaguar and Land Rover.Gardiner said the review was continuing and Ford was now actively investigating its options in terms of other possible actions.

"We are not ruling anything in or out," he added.India's Tata Motors is reported to have made its bid for the two marquees but a company spokesperson had denied commenting on "market speculations".Global private equity firms, including Cerberus Capital Management, the investment group that purchased the Chrysler Group, and Ripplewood Holdings, are also reported to be in race to acquire the two cult auto brands.