WATERFORD Wedgwood is unlikely to make a bid for the troubled German china group, Rosenthal, unless it is invited to do so by the Rosenthal board, and any bid is likely to be in the order of £25 million to £30 million.

Waterford Wedgwood has declined to comment on renewed speculation on a bid for Rosenthal, but informed sources have indicated that Waterford might be keen to buy Rosenthal - but only on its own terms The German company currently has a restriction which caps voting shards of any single shareholder at 5 per cent, so a hostile takeover bid seems out of the question.

But if Waterford is asked to bid for Rosenthal, in what would then become a rescue of the German company, then the situation could change. The Rosenthal family itself only holds 3 per cent of the shares, and the only shareholders above 5 per cent are the banking group Bayerische Hypotheken with 15 per cent. Rosenthal with 9 per cent and Mr Josef Schorghuher with 5 per cent.

It is understood that many of Rosenthal's institutional shareholders have become disillusioned with the management of the company and would welcome the arrival of a company like Waterford Wedgwood, with a record of turning around loss making china and crystal operations. With a gearing of per cent, a bid on the scale suggested would not present a major problem for Waterford Wedgwood.

Rosenthal plunged into heavy losses last year and is continuing to perform poorly this year. The group has suffered from a combination of the strength of the deutschmark, high labour costs and poor industrial relations.

Rosenthal, founded in 1879, manufactures and markets fine porcelain and china tableware, glass tableware, interior furnishings and furniture decorative glass and porcelain articles. The company also produces ceramic tiles and distributes its products to more than 700 outlets worldwide. The vast hulk of its sales are in porcelain and china and the domestic German market accounts for most of the group's sales.

Rosenthal has had a dismal performance in recent years with sales falling steadily and the group moving into heavy losses last year from a break even situation the year before.

Rosenthal's sales in the year to December, 1995, were 330 million deutschmark (£134 million), about two thirds the £222 million sales last year of Waterford Wedgwood's own Wedgwood china division. But in contrast to Wedgwood, which turned in operating profits of £17.8 million last year, Rosenthal's had an operating loss of DM17.5 million (£7.1 million) in the same period. Rosenthal has long term debt of DM17.5 million and other long term liabilities of DM52.9 million.