Tata Motors is expected to sign a memorandum of understanding to buy Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford in the next two weeks, a labour union negotiator was quoted as saying on Friday.
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There are no roadblocks holding back the deal, but negotiations have proved complex, Dave Osborne, national secretary for vehicle building at the Unite union, told Reuters.
A separate source close to the deal also told the news agency the deal could be concluded “within weeks”.
Industry observers had expected an announcement to be made at this week’s Geneva show but it was not fortcoming.
The source told Reuters negotiations are now focusing on the future relationship between Ford and the two luxury brands, which will continue to take Ford engines and body parts and will share technology and intellectual property rights.
“We expect a memorandum of understanding between Ford and Tata to be signed within the next couple of weeks,” Osborne told Reuters. “At the end of the day, this is between Ford and Tata, but that’s the information we’re picking up.”
A Ford spokesman [reiterating earlier comments] told the news agency there were no roadblocks and the automaker was still on track to conclude the deal in early 2008.
