BMW says no deal yet on selling Rover brand

German premium carmaker BMW said today it is still in talks to sell the Rover brand name to Chinese carmaker Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC).

"Discussions are still going on so therefore the deal is not done yet," a BMW spokesman in Munich told Reuters.

The spokesman was responding to a report in Wednesday's Financial Times, which said BMW had agreed to sell the Rover brand name to SAIC.

The sale for £11 million ($33.27 million) was expected to be completed in September, the newspaper said in its Wednesday edition, citing people close to the transaction.

SAIC bought design rights for some Rover cars from MG Rover before the British firm collapsed under debts of £1.4 billion last year, but BMW retained the Rover brand name.

China's Nanjing Auto, which bought MG Rover, had also been talking to BMW about getting the rights to the Rover brand.

Ford Motor Co has the right of first refusal to buy the Rover marque, but the paper said it was not expected to exercise this.

MG Rover's collapse led to 5000 job losses at its main British plant.

- REUTERS