Shanghai Auto to buy Rover brand from BMW

FRANKFURT: The famous Rover brand name is to be sold to Chinese auto maker Shanghai Automotive Industry (SAIC) for just over £11m (e16m, $21m), the Financial Times has reported. “We cannot confirm the information,” a spokesman for BMW said, “We are currently negotiating with a few interested parties, including SAIC, regarding the sale of the rights, but no agreement has yet been reached.”

BMW sold Rover in ’00, but held on to the brand name. SAIC has already acquired the design rights for a number of Rover cars for £67m.

With the Rover brand name, the Chinese car maker would have everything it wanted of Rover at a fraction of the cost of the £200m-deal it was discussing with MG Rover before the Birmingham-based car maker collapsed last April, the FT said.

The sale was likely to be completed in September, allowing SAIC to put the Rover badge on Rover-designed cars it will soon start building in China.

Nevertheless, US auto giant Ford has the right of first refusal on the acquisition of the Rover brand name under the terms of a deal in ’00.