BIRMINGHAM, England — Collapsed British automaker MG Rover is finally under Chinese ownership.

Administrator PriceWaterhouseCoopers announced Friday it had accepted an offer — thought to be around $90 million — from a small Chinese automaker, Nanjing Automobile, ahead of rival bids from Shanghai Automotive and a U.K.-backed bid called Project Kimber.

Nanjing had seemed the least likely bidder, but administrator Tony Lomas said the level and "conditionality" of SAIC's bid left Nanjing as the preferred buyer. Lomas' statement announcing the decision made no mention of Kimber.

Nanjing plans to relocate the engine plant and some of the car production plant to China, retain some car production in the U.K. and develop a British R&D and technical facility.

Nanjing could hire up to 2,000 people in Britain to assemble MG sports cars and large sedans, plus small-car kits imported from China. Cars would be sold as MGs in Europe and perhaps under a revived Austin brand in China.

Nanjing still will have to work with SAIC, which owns the designs of the Rover 75 and 25, the MG TF and Rover's engines. However, Nanjing has close links with SAIC, so it's likely a deal will be struck. But any use of the Rover, MG and even Austin brands will also require BMW's agreement.

What this means to you: The administrator has finally chosen a less ambitious plan for Rover, something BMW should have done five years ago. Many hope Nanjing does something positive with the MG brand, its biggest asset.

German car maker BMW AG has the rights to the Rover name, retaining them when it sold the company to Phoenix Venture Holdings for a token 10 pounds in 2000. BMW gave MG Rover permission to use the name indefinitely for free under a licensing agreement and said it would consider letting another company use the name. BMW sold the rights to the MG name to Phoenix in the same deal

المشاركة الأصلية بواسطة RED Chevy مب مهم بالنسبة لي لكن زين احسن من ان تندثر الشركة وتنتهي لأن مهما كان لها تاريخ يوقف يمها...