The controversial sale of car giant Rover to a venture capitalist firm is
"very nearly" a done deal, an executive said tonight as hope faded that an
alternative bid would be successful.
German owners BMW is expected to sanction the Rover sale to Alchemy Partners
on Friday, signalling job losses across the country.
Despite pleas today by Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers and unions
for BMW to give more time to a rival bid, the Alchemy deal looked like being
signed within days.
Alchemy boss Jon Moulton said: "It's very nearly a done deal."
Workers from the huge Longbridge plant in Birmingham may travel to Munich
tomorrow in a last-ditch mission to try to persuade BMW to postpone its
deadline and give more time to a rival bid from a consortium led by former
Rover executive John Towers.
A rally will be held in Longbridge tomorrow in support of the Towers bid.
Union officials are expected to go to Munich on Thursday to try to lobby a
meeting of the BMW management board, but privately officials admit there is
little chance of success.
Tony Woodley, chief Rover negotiator for the Transport and General Workers
Union, said he would continue to press for more time right up until Friday.
But after speaking to BMW officials in Germany today he conceded there would
have to be a "dramatic" change in events if the Alchemy deal was not to go
ahead.
Mr Moulton, who spoke to Mr Byers today, said union predictions that about
half the jobs at Longbridge would be lost were of the "right magnitude".
He also dismissed claims that Longbridge could stay as a mass car producer.
"We have looked at every way of running Longbridge and if we thought mass
production was viable, believe me, we would be doing it."
John Hemming, a member of the Towers team, said all the consortium wanted was
more time so they could compete on "a level playing field".
But Mr Moulton said: "It would be rather like giving Mr Hemming more time to
prove he could run a four-minute mile. I fear he would fail."
Unions fear up to 11,000 Rover jobs will be lost under the Alchemy deal
compared to 3,200 if the Towers bid was accepted.
Even under the best case estimate, 9,000 jobs will go after Alchemy take over
Rover, unions believe.
Meanwhile, motor industry pundits have warned Alchemy that re-branding
existing models as MGs by adding badges but little else could devalue the
marque.
The warning followed the release of snatched pictures purporting to show
Alchemy's first prototype model, a Rover 25 model with seemingly few
alterations save the famous MG octagon on the front and rear.
Mr Hemming maintained that the situation at Rover was not as bad as presented
by BMW, and his consortium believed it could get the company into profit by
2002.
Mr Hemming estimated that the group's losses last year were closer to £170
million, rather than the £700-£800 million suggested by BMW.
But the claim was dismissed as "a piece of nonsense" by Mr Moulton.
An interim report by the taskforce set up by Mr Byers to study the effect of
the Longbridge sale on jobs is expected to be published tomorrow.
The taskforce is expected to warn that thousands of jobs will be lost across
the West Midlands.
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