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BMW faces trading probe
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August 10, 2000: 7:42 a.m. ET
German regulator investigates possible insider trading before Rover sale
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LONDON (CNNfn) - German carmaker Bayerische Motoren Werke AG, or BMW, is under investigation for possible insider trading surrounding the sale of its loss-making Rover car business, according to several press reports Thursday.
The German Federal Securities Supervisory Office told the Financial Times that an investigation was at an early stage and may or may not lead to court proceedings. It's examining fluctuations in BMW share price ahead of the March 16 board meeting that agreed to sell Rover.
Germany's third-biggest carmaker was plagued by losses in its U.K. subsidiary Rover until it opted to sell both Rover Cars and sport/utility vehicle maker Land Rover. It agreed in May to sell the car unit to U.K. investment firm Phoenix for a symbolic purchase price of £10 ($15.36).
"This isn't an investigation," Juerg Dinner, a spokesman for BMW, told CNNfn.com. "This is a routine process, which the regulator undertakes when there is a big movement in share price. They (regulator) requested information, which we provided. We have not heard anything since then."
The company sold its Land Rover division to Ford Motor Co. (F: Research, Estimates) for  3 billion ($2.8 billion).
Separately, an association of some 180 Rover car dealers in Germany plans to submit a claim for damages of "far more than 100 million marks" ($46 million) from BMW for lost business caused by the uncertainty during the drawn-out sale. 
--from staff and wire reports
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