LONDON - Beatles legend Sir Paul McCartney was to offer a 25-million-pound (38-million-euro, 49-million-dollar) settlement to his estranged wife Heather Mills-McCartney to end a bitter divorce battle, the Daily Mirror has reported.

British pop-star Paul McCartney (R) and Heather Mills. McCartney was to offer a 25-million-pound (38-million-euro, 49-million-dollar) settlement to his estranged wife Heather Mills-McCartney to end a bitter divorce battle, the Daily Mirror reported. [AFP]

Citing various unnamed sources, the tabloid said that the 64-year-old had instructed his legal team to make the offer in an effort to avoid a public and messy court case.

"This is the closest we've been to an agreement," an unnamed source close to the case was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Meanwhile, an unidentified close friend of McCartney's told the Mirror: "He is absolutely determined to keep his private life hidden from public scrutiny ... The divorce has been dragging on nine months. There's war weariness creeping in."

Mills-McCartney, 38, and the former Beatles star, who have a three-year-old daughter, announced the end of their four-year marriage last May.

But the divorce has turned into an acrimonious affair played out in the media, with leaked divorce papers in November claiming McCartney mistreated his second wife.

McCartney had said through his lawyers that he would "vigorously" defend the allegations.

"It isn't simply a matter of him making an offer and it being accepted. There are other issues at stake. But they are almost there," an unnamed legal insider was quoted by the Mirror as saying.

"The channels of communication have opened up significantly in the last week or so. There have been intense and heightened conversations."

"It is the first time a deal has been mentioned and both sides hope a settlement will be formally reached in the next month. Unless there is a major hiccup, this will not be going to court."