Car Magazine reported that the world?s two biggest luxury goods firms are locked in a battle to buy Aston Martin from cash-starved Ford. Swiss-based Richemont and French holding company Louis Vuitton Mo?t Hennessy have emerged as most likely to take on Aston, despite having no previous experience in the car industry.[4] Sunday Telegraph announced that Permira, Alchemy Partners and Texas Pacific Group are lining up bids of up to ?500m, along with Jac Nasser, now a partner at One Equity, the private equity arm of JP Morgan. BMW have excluded themselves, as have most of the recognised car companies in light of the cash-rich private equity money. The first round of the auction closes on 30 November 2006.[5]