Tata Motors to bag Jaguar, Land Rover by early March

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

The Indian automaker is also expected to take over the pension liabilities, he added.

"Everything seems fine as far as we are concerned; it's just the lawyers working on it now," Maddison said.

Meanwhile, sources close to the deal said Ford's discussions with Tata was constructive and progressing forward and that a conclusive agreement is expected as soon as early March.

The announcement of the sale may come on the sidelines of the Geneva Motor Show which will commence on March 4, the sources said.

Ford, which competes with General Motors Corp. and Toyota Motor Corp., the world's two largest automakers by sales volume, bought Jaguar for $2.5 billion in 1989 and Land Rover for $2.7 billion in 2000, joining them with Aston Martin and Volvo to form its Premier Automotive Group.

However, the No.2 US automaker, Ford, which has struggled with declining US sales and falling market share for the past few years, has been exploring the sale of Jaguar and Land Rover since last June.

Last year Ford completed the sale of its controlling stake in Aston Martin for $931 million in cash and preferred stock.

Once Jaguar and Land Rover are sold, Ford's only European luxury brand will be Sweden-based Volvo. Ford has said it wants to return that unit to profit.

In a separate development, Tata Motors has mandated several local and foreign banks to raise nearly $2.5 billion - mostly from overseas.