Uutisia Roverista

Tässä lisää uutisia Roverista:

"Businessman David James has ended plans to rescue collapsed carmaker MG Rover. Speculation has been rife recently about a possible rescue for Rover, which went bankrupt earlier this year at a cost of more than 5,500 jobs. Mr James is part of a consortium that had hoped to buy Rover and keep making cars at the firm's Longbridge plant.

For that to happen, Mr James needed China's Shanghai Automotive (SAIC) to agree to buy key Rover businesses and assets, which it refused to do. Without SAIC's agreement, Mr James and his group could not raise the money that they needed to buy Rover.

'Logical step'

Under the terms of their rescue plan, Mr James wanted to break up Rover and create a new MG car firm. The MG brand is seen as one of Rover's most valuable assets. Poster pleading for the jobs at Longbridge to be saved The MG Rover collapse sparked the loss of 5,500 jobs. Under his plan, SAIC would have acquired Rover's profitable Powertrain engine-making division, and undertaken to buy the firm's remaining assets a year later. Mr James said that over the weekend it became clear that SAIC was not willing to commit to the plan.

"I thought they would accept it, because it would be such a logical step," he told the BBC's Today programme.We would have put them on our board and given them 25% of our new MG company as a gift," he explained. "It would have been a very logical progression towards an eventual time when SAIC would have owned everything."

He said that it would have given SAIC access to the UK car market as well as providing the Chinese firm with the assets they already had expressed an interest in.

More talks

SAIC had already held lengthy discussions with Rover's management about the possibility of a partnership, but eventually ruled itself out of making a bid. Analysts said that the firm may have decided it can get the assets cheaper once all hopes of a rescue have evaporated. Speculation has swirled about Rover and its chances of finding a white knight.

The Mail on Sunday carried news of Mr James' talks, while The Sunday Telegraph reported that another firm, Nanjing Automobile, had been awarded preferred bidder status, enabling it to conduct negotiations on an exclusive basis. Rovers' administrators PricewaterhouseCoopers have set an October deadline for reaching a deal."

James vetäytyy. Nyt alkaa olla vahvaa näyttöä siitä, että kiinalaiset (SAIC) haluavat Roverin tietyt osat halvalla, joten he eivät ole muihin järjestelyihin halukkaita. Nyt on enää Nanjingin autotehdas tarjoamassa. Lokakuussa on deadline.

Tässä hyvää taustaa lisää:


James and SAIC in last-ditch Rover talks
By Edward Simpkins (Filed: 10/07/2005)

David James, the corporate troubleshooter responsible for rescuing the Millennium Dome, is locked in frantic talks to mount a bid for MG Rover after a Chinese rival was selected as the preferred bidder for the failed car company.

Nanjing Automobile Corporation was selected late last week as the favoured bidder by PricewaterhouseCoopers, the administrators to MG Rover, in a deal thought to be worth around £50m. However, PwC has held off announcing a deal to see whether James can table a bid this week.

James, who wants to re-start production of MG sports cars in Birmingham, spent yesterday locked in talks with Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (SAIC), China's largest auto manufacturer, about launching a joint £60m bid for MG Rover.

Previously, SAIC has indicated that it is only interested in spending between £10m and £20m on buying Powertrain, the MG Rover engines and transmissions business which is also in administration.

Under the joint bid, SAIC would buy Powertrain and James would source engines for the MG TF two-seater roadster - the only MG Rover model for which there was strong demand - from the Chinese company. PwC is keen to sell as much of MG Rover as possible in one go, making a joint bid more likely to be looked upon favourably.

Unless James and SAIC reach agreement, a deal to sell the remaining assets of the UK's last volume car manufacturer to Nanjing is likely to be announced within the next few days.

Executives close to Nanjing deny suggestions its bid includes plans to dismantle the Longbridge plant and ship the production line to eastern China, where it could produce versions of Rover models for the domestic market.

Nanjing is thought to have held talks with a number of British business groups over resuming car production at Longbridge where 5,500 workers were laid off when MG Rover failed in April.

Nanjing wants to restart production of a range of models at Longbridge. These are likely to include MG sports cars and saloons and possibly the Rover 75, the well-regarded large saloon. Nanjing is also planning to assemble Chinese-made small cars at Longbridge, making it the first major Chinese car manufacturer to establish a bridgehead in the European Union. The scheme envisages employing around 2,000 staff at Longbridge.

"Nanjing wants to be a global player and they want and need to be in Europe," an executive close to the bid said yesterday. "They are very serious about it." It was unclear yesterday whether Nanjing has raised all the funds its needs for a bid.

Nanjing's bid has been backed by Nick Stephenson, one of the original Phoenix Four - the Birmingham businessmen who bought Rover for £10 from BMW five years ago and who have been accused of enriching themselves while presiding over the collapse of the car company.

Earlier this year, SAIC came close to forming a joint venture with MG Rover. The deal was the British group's only hope of staving off collapse, but the discussions fell apart when SAIC realised the depth of MG Rover's dire financial position.

SAIC could also mount a legal challenge to a sale of MG Rover to Nanjing. SAIC believes that no other manufacturer can use the MG Rover production line without its permission following a deal last year in which it paid £67m for all the intellectual property used in producing Rover cars

Money Telegraph tänään 12.7.

Näyttäisi nyt vahvasti siltä, että SAIC tulee ostamaan konkurssipesästä mitä se tarvitsee (halvalla) ja aloittaa tuotannon Kiinassa aikanaan. Nanjing Automobile hankkinee resurssit tehdä Rovereita ja MG:a Longbridgen tehtailla. Markkina-alueena on silloin Eurooppa. Mielestäni todellista kilpailua näiden kahden kiinalaisen tehtaan kesken ei ole, koska molemmat ovat Kiinan valtion omistamia. Kiinalaiset tarvitsevat Euroopan markkinoita laajentumiseen.

Kiinalaisilla on rahaa ja resursseja, joten näyttää hyvin lohdulliselta. Ostakaa nyt hätäisiltä paniikkimyyjiltä Roverit pois. Hyviä kauppoja teette.

On se mukavaa, kun on koko palsta hallussa ja saa seurustella itsensä kanssa.

Tänään 14.7. on jälleen tullut Rover-omistajia miellyttävä muutos (BBC News):

"
SAIC 'could submit MG Rover bid'

Chinese firms continue to circle Rover. Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) team up with former head of Ford of Europe Martin Leach to rescue MG Rover, the Financial Times has said.

If a letter of intent is signed it means China's SAIC will be in competition with Nanjing Automobile of China to buy the UK firm. PricewaterhouseCoopers - Rover's administrators - have been briefed on the bid vehicle, Ma8ma, the paper said. No formal bid has been tabled, but rival Nanjing has submitted a bid.

Production plan

The Financial Times said Mr Leach and SAIC president Chen Hong "are understood to have had breakfast in London to discuss details of the letter of intent".

The plan, which is by no means certain to lead to a bid, could see the Rover 75 and sports cars built at Rover's Longbridge factory. SAIC would produce engines at a plant in China, using machinery from Longbridge, the newspaper said."


SAIC on kuuleman mukaan tekemässä tarjousta siitä, että Rover 75 ja MG-urheiluautot valmistetaan Longbridgen tehtailla. SAIC vie Roverin koneenvalmistuksen Kiinaan, ja myy koneita sitten Englannin tehtaille. Saapa nähdä.

Nyt on SAIC allekirjoittanut yhteistyösopimuksen virallisen tarjouksen antamisesta MG Roverista (BBC News):

"Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC) has signed an agreement with Martin Leach, ex-head of Ford of Europe, to rescue MG Rover.

They say they will put in a bid to administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers to buy Rover's assets. The proposal involves a substantial amount of carmaking at Longbridge and a nearby research centre for new models.

Nanjing Automobile of China submitted a bid to PwC on Wednesday involving carmaking at Longbridge. The SAIC-Leach proposal - from bid vehicle Magma Holdings - and the Nanjing bid are likely to be the frontrunners among the expressions of interest in Rover's assets.

Production plan

If they don't get a deal, Rover will have to be sold off piecemeal and creditors will get virtually nothing Dr Tom Donnelly, Coventry Business School

The SAIC-Leach plan could see the Rover 75 and sports cars built at Rover's Longbridge factory.
The plan would mean jobs for between 1,300 and 1,600 engineers and designers on a new technology site at Longbridge. SAIC is expected to produce engines at a plant in China, using machinery from Longbridge.


SAIC on allekirjoittanut sopimuksen Fordin entisen Euroopan johtajan kanssa tarjouksen antamisesta. Se sisältää 1300-1600 työpaikkaa Longbridgeen ja aemmin uutisissa mainittuja asioita (kts. ed.).

Nanjing on edelleen mukana. Jatko riippuu siitä, hyväksyvätkö velkojat näitä tarjouksia ja tuleeko niitä lisää jostakin suunnasta. Molemmat kiinalaiset tarjoajat sitoutuvat pitämään Longbridgessä tuotantoa. Mukavia uutisia.