Ladies and gentlemen, wealthy heirs and oil-barons, please place your bids for two of the most storied British automakers of the 20th century. You've got until July 19th to throw your offer into the pool of other potential suitors for both Jaguar and Land Rover.

The Financial Times has it on good authority that bids for the two automakers are likely to come from private equity firms rather than established automakers, since most are already plagued with production and financial woes. Rumors are swirling that One Equity and Blackstone may be in the running, along with Cerberus, the firm that is in the process of acquiring Chrysler.

However, although the date is set for later this month, don't expect a sale to take place soon, as Ford has been lagging on putting together the required documentation necessary to close the sale. Additionally, it's been reported that worker's unions have made demands that include keeping production lines open in three UK plants over the next five years, along with keeping Ford's UK plants open and the R&D facilities working at full bore.

[Source: Financial Times]