With Aston Martin obviously having already been sold off to private equity, Automotive News Europe is reporting FoMoCo's hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to shop around what's left of the Premier Automotive Group. Although FoMoCo's not commenting on the story, ANE's saying FoMoCo's talked to BMW about Volvo earlier this year. But as FoMoCo's said recently they're not in the process of selling the brand all about the meatballs, one can only assume the BMW gambit didn't work. If that's the case, maybe it's the reason why Ford's reportedly now talking to Fiat about a purchase agreement of Jaguar and Land Rover. The rest of the report claims Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne ended discussions with Lewis Booth of PAG primarily because owning Jaguar and Land Rover would adversely effect Fiat's credit rating. But my guess is FoMoCo's still got Goldman and Morgan Stanley on hand to try selling off the remainder of the PAG because there's something they need more than Euro luxe brands — cash. Hey, anyone happen to know what happened to that $18 billion? – Ray Wert

Ford Hires Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs To Sell Brands-Report [CNNMoney.com]

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Related:
BMW to Volvo? Ford Says It's a No-Go; Over the Back Fence: BMW Still Angling to Buy Volvo?; Breaking The Bank! Ford Puts Up The House And Barn, Seeks $18 Billion In Credit [internal]

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