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Rover sold to Nanjing for up to £60mn
London: MG Rover was sold last night to Chinese carmaker Nanjing Automobile in a deal thought to be worth between £50mn and £60mn.

Nanjing said it plans to build sport cars under the MG marque in the UK, while moving the Rover production to China, along with engine production. The Chinese state car company has bought Rover, together with MG, and Powertrain, the engine business.

A research and development centre will also be built at Longbridge.

Nanjing beat off the Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), and David James, the businessman. A spokesman for Pricewaterhouse Coopers said the Nanjing bid was "significantly higher than the other offer, and it was also unconditional. SAIC had attached a number of conditions and in the end, that is what drove the administrator to choose Nanjing".

Nanjing, China's oldest carmaker, said it wanted to become a "significant global player", and the acquisition of Rover would give it an entry into Europe. The company also has a joint venture with Fiat, which is under performing. Nanjing, which has 16,000 workers, is far smaller than SAIC, which made 600,000 vehicles last year.

One complication is that SAIC already owns the intellectual property rights to the engines for the Rover 25 and 75 models. A spokesman for the administrator said that he had "sold any rights that the company had" and that these were substantial.
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