'Tata to seal Jaguar, Land Rover buy next week'

According to a report, Tata and Ford met with British union leaders last week to resolve final details.

India's Tata Motors will announce its purchase of luxury British brands Jaguar and Land Rover from struggling US automaker Ford Motor Co. on March 5 or 6, industry press reported on Monday.

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Tata and Ford met with British union leaders last week to resolve final details before drawing up a memorandum of understanding for the sale, Automotive News reported on its website.

"The sooner everything goes through, the better," Roger Maddison, national officer of Unite, the largest union in the UK auto industry, told Automotive News Europe.

"The workforces are beginning to get anxious."

Tata has agreed to meet the guarantees sought by union leaders, Maddison said.

A key issue was whether Tata would continue to source engines and other systems from Ford's British plants. Ford officials were not immediately available for comment.

Automotive News cited a Ford "insider" who said the announcement was being delayed in order not to overshadow the introduction of an updated Ford Fiesta at the Geneva auto show next week.