German carmaker BMW, which last week announced its exit from Formula One, has rejected an offer from team founder Peter Sauber to take over the team, Sauber said.
But BMW said they were still in talks to reach a deal with Sauber as well as other interested parties about the sale of BMW's 80 per cent stake in the Formula One team. Sauber, who holds 20 per cent, said after the announcement of the Formula One exit, he tried to rescue the team.
"But negotiations with BMW broke down, because demands had simply been to high for me," he said.
As a result, he had not been able to sign the Concorde Agreement, which would have guaranteed payments running into millions, securing the team's future.
The governing body of Formua One (FIA) and the 12 teams signed a new Concorde Agreement last week to safeguard the sport until 2012.