Iran is preparing an offer to buy MG Rover’s entire operating plant and reopen the Longbridge assembly lines for immediate production, according to the Daily Telegraph, which noted that the bid to save up to 20,000 jobs in the West Midlands is seen as an effort to earn goodwill in Britain and soften the UK government’s hard line on Iran’s nuclear programme.
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The paper said the Iranian government in Teheran has ordered rival local car firms Dastaan, Saipa, and Khodro to work together towards a combined offer to buy about 150,000 Rover cars over the next two years before moving to partial assembly of kits in Iran, which would safeguard thousands of jobs in Britain until the end of the decade.
The Daily Telegraph said a team from Iran’s industry ministry visited Longbridge last week to inspect the plant and noted that Dastaan is acting as the negotiating arm in Britain.
The paper said Rover administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers has received 16 separate offers from nine countries, but most buyers aim to strip Rover’s assets and exploit the technology.
Dastaan’s British agent, Peter Linghorn, told the Daily Telegraph that Iran is the only buyer willing to preserve the Rover structure and reportedly added that Iran was even willing to take over some of the defunct car maker’s £67 million pension liabilities.”
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By GlobalDataAn Iranian official told the paper the ministry had the resources, but was still unclear on what assets it could purchase once the Chinese firm SAIC had finished with Rover.
SAIC has bought the intellectual property rights to some Rover car models and engines but exact details are still unclear.
Linghorn told the Daily Telegraph the deal would save “almost 100%” of the existing MG Rover structure. “We want to reopen all the Rover lines: the 75, the 45 and 25, MG sports,” he reportedly said, adding: “There’s an immediate need for 150,000 cars because the country is only just starting to open up to imports.”
According to the Daily Telegraph, Linghorn believed MG sports cars could still be exported to Europe and America while later phases would involve assembly of a further 150,000 cars a year in Iran.
