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Rover Update: US Bank Identified

8 May 2000

Is there also a Honda side to the Equation?    

    London - Following up on yesterday's BMW/Rover story that an American Bank
has joined the fray in helping to support the Phoenix Consortium bid to acquire Rover
and its Longbridge plant, Reuters New Agency has identified the bank as
First Union, based in Charlotte, NC.

    First Union is estimated to be the sixth largest US bank, with assets of
$253 billion.  The deal will be managed through its UK subsidiary, Burdale
Financial.

    It had been revealed over the weekend that Abby National was the UK bank
that was also interested in helping John Towers and Phoenix to put together
the deal with BMW.  The other "foreign" banks mentioned as part of the
financial package are still unidentified. 

    There have also been conflicting reports out of the UK and Japan today as to 
Honda's interest in becoming involved with Phoenix on the Rover takeover.  
However, a definitive answer is still to come.