AMSTERDAM (Reuters) - Plans of Chinese carmaker Nanjing Automobile to sell MG-branded cars in Europe may hit a snag as the administrator of the Dutch MG Rover unit said Nanjing did not own necessary trademarks.

MG trademarks for countries such as Germany and France are owned by the Dutch subsidiary of MG Rover, administrator Anthony Terng said on Monday, adding he was in negotiations with Nanjing over selling the MG brand to them.

Terng said although Nanjing claimed to own the brand, it had made an offer, which he turned down as too low.

Negotiations started only recently, Terng said, adding he had also been approached by several other parties but kept them at a distance while talks with Nanjing go on.



"Interest came from industry and private parties," he said.

Nanjing, which took over control of collapsed MG Rover last year, declined to comment.

Nanjing to buy MG – again
12th December 2006

A long running dispute between Nanjing Automobile and the Dutch importer of MG Rover are threatening plans to sell MG-branded cars across Europe. The administrator of the Dutch MG Rover subsidiary claims that it owns the rights to the MG name across much of continental Europe. Nanjing, China's oldest carmaker, thought it had bought all the rights to the MG name and the carmaker's Birmingham factory last year. It intends to sell the cars in Europe and China.

Anthony Terng, administrator of MG Rover Nederland, said the insolvent company still owned several MG trademarks and he would be discussing the possible sale of them to Nanjing. He declined to say how much they could be worth, but said payments to ordinary creditors of the company would depend on the sale of the MG marque. Nanjing said it was looking into the situation in the Netherlands.

Source: Financial Times (www.ft.com)