Mumbai: Germany's Deutsche Telekom is in advanced discussions with Indian IT service major Tata Consultancy Services for a partnership for T-System's, a report in Financial Times Deutschland said.

The Tata Group's acquisition of a stake in Deutsche Telekom's high-tech unit would see thousands of jobs moving to India, according to a report published in a German weekly news magazine Focus.

The report said the Tata Group was on the verge of acquiring the systems integration business of Deutsche Telekom unit T-Systems, adding that there were only a few final legal issues to be resolved.

T-Systems offers integrated information and communications technology systems to business customers.

The report said Deutsche Telekom's T-Systems unit employs about 18,000 professionals and about half of those jobs would now go to India.

Sources said a contract would likely be signed in the next few days, although the legal issues could still derail a deal. Sources said, the high number of civil servants employed by T-Systems seems to have complicated negotiations.

Deutsche Telekom has been looking for a strategic partner for T-Systems, particularly for its systems integration segment.

Tata would be an ideal partner for Deutsche Telekom due to its many employees based in low wage countries, the sources added.