Rover Group plc was formed in 1986 as the state-owned successor to the vehicle manufacturer British Leyland (BL plc); privatised in 1988 by its sale of the company to British Aereospace; changed its name in 1989 to Rover Group Holdings Limited; in 1994 BAe sold Rover Group to the German vehicle manufacturer BMW, renamed BMW (UK) Holdings Limited in 1995; the company was broken up in 2000; the Rover and MG car business was purchased by the Phoenix Consortium, which operated them as MG Rover Group.