Chinese investors seeking to buy a stake in a European mapping company were told to “apply directly” to the US president after their €241m offer failed to win regulatory approval, according to one of the bidders.

Beijing-based NavInfo, a mapping provider for tech giant Tencent, together with Tencent and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC agreed last year to buy a 10 per cent stake in Amsterdam-headquartered Here to provide high-resolution maps of China for autonomous cars. The mapping technology company is owned by German carmakers Audi, BMW and Daimler, and US chipmaker Intel.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the US weighed in on the deal, which received the green light from German regulators in January, due to Here’s assets in Chicago. Cfius made NavInfo and its fellow investors go through multiple hoops, but did not ultimately approve the deal.