Tata set to win Jaguar, Land Rover auction: report

LONDON (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N) is poised to name India's Tata Motors (TAMO.BO) as preferred bidder for its Jaguar and Land Rover brands, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reported.

An announcement could come in the next fortnight, with Tata expected to pay about 1 billion pounds ($2 billion), it added.

Ford, which is spinning off the British luxury marques to focus on restructuring its loss-making North American operations, said last week it aimed to complete the sale in early 2008.

Tata is competing in the auction for the luxury brands with rival Indian group Mahindra & Mahindra (MAHM.BO) and private equity firm One Equity Partners.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler, Editing by Erica Billingham)