Less than a week after Ford put British luxury car maker Jaguar on the auction block, the company reportedly may have a caller looking to kick the tires: Oleg Deripaska. The sixth richest man in Russia and owner of car maker GAZ Group recently bought British van maker LDV. In addition to already having a stake in the British automotive industry, the 38-year-old Russian businessman, whose worth is an estimated $14.3 billion, recently hired Martin Leach, the former head of Ford Europe, to manage GAZ, Russia's second largest auto maker. The deal could make sense for GAZ because it is primarily a commercial vehicle maker, so Jaguar would give it a toe-hold in the consumer market. In addition, GAZ reportedly is planning to go public, so it could raise the capital necessary to buy Jaguar. Plus, it recently agreed to sell its military transport unit in preparation of the float. —Matthew Wurtzel
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