Britain's bankrupt MG Rover was "20 minutes" from China car deal: owners

0 Comments | AFP, April, 2005

LONDON (AFP) — The owners of failed British car maker MG Rover revealed that they were just "20 minutes" from completing a rescue deal with a proposed Chinese partner last week, before Shanghai Automotive Industrial Corporation (SAIC) dramatically changed its mind.

Clinging on to hope of there still being a possible last-ditch rescue of Britain's last high volume automaker, John Towers -- chairman of Rover's owners Phoenix Venture Holdings -- told BBC radio that a deal with the Chinese "could still come good" and was "not dead".

"That is the best possible outcome that could happen," Towers said.

"It would lead to a significant number of jobs at Longbridge" -- Rover's now mothballed plant in central England.

Century-old MG Rover, which has produced...