F1: BMW Sells To Sauber As Qadbak Deal Collapses

Formula 1

F1: BMW Sells To Sauber As Qadbak Deal Collapses

BMW has announced that it has sold its F1 team back to founder Peter Sauber, who has always retained a 20% stake in the outfit...

Adam Cooper | http://www.speedtv.com | Posted November 27, 2009 Balen (BEL)

BMW has agreed to sell its Formula One team back to Peter Sauber, on the condition that the team receives an entry for 2010, after announcing it's original sale to Qadbak Investment Ltd. will not be completed.

BMW has announced that it has sold its F1 team back to founder Peter Sauber, who has always retained a 20% stake in the outfit.

Sauber had tried to do a deal when BMW’s withdrawal was first announced, but the price and conditions were unacceptable, and instead a sale was made to the Qadbak organization.

Supposedly backed by Bahraini royal family (who also have a 30% stake in McLaren), Qadbak proved to be a mysterious and controversial organization, whose only other publicly acknowledged investment was in a British soccer team. It also emerged that one of the men behind the Qadbak deal was Russell King, a former member of Jenson Button’s management team who has had a brush with the British legal authorities.

It’s been known for some time that Rothschilds, the bank that was brokering the sale on behalf of BMW, was looking at an alternative. Sauber is said to have backing from the USA.

However, the team still does not have a guaranteed place on the 2010 grid. It had been thought that Toyota’s withdrawal would clarify the situation, but it now appears that attempts are being made to sell Toyota’s entry and technology to Serbian Zoran Stefanovic, who has been trying to get a slot under the Stefan GP banner.

A BMW statement read as follows: “BMW AG reaches agreement with Peter Sauber regarding sale of the BMW Sauber F1 Team Munich/Hinwil. Yesterday (Thursday), BMW AG reached an agreement with Peter Sauber regarding the sale of the BMW Sauber F1 Team. The contract is subject to the condition that the team has a starting place for the 2010 Formula One season.

“This means that the sale to Qadbak Investment Ltd. that was initially planned will not be completed. A further agreement with Peter Sauber proposes personnel cuts from the current level of 388 to around 250 employees. The restructuring of the team and compliance with future framework conditions have made this essential. Notices of redundancy have therefore been issued today. BMW AG regrets the need for these personnel cutbacks and will support the restructuring. At this moment in time, due to the aforementioned restructuring of the team, it is not possible to exclude the possibility of further redundancies in the near future.”

Explaining the sale, Dr Klaus Draeger, Member of the Board of Management of BMW AG with responsibility for Development, said: “We are very happy with this solution. This fulfils the most important requirement for a successful future for the team. Our relationship with Peter Sauber has always been excellent and marked by absolute respect. We would like to express our thanks to Peter Sauber and the whole team for the excellent cooperation during the recent four years.”

Meanwhile Peter Sauber added: "I am very relieved that we have found this solution. It means we can keep the Hinwil location and the majority of workplaces. I am convinced that the new team has a very good future in Formula One, whose current transformation with new framework conditions will benefit the private teams. Our staff here are highly competent and motivated, and I look forward to taking on this new challenge together with them. I would like to thank BMW for four shared years that have in the main been very successful."

It remains to be seen just who has provided Sauber with his financial backing and whether the team gets an entry in time to be ready for the 2010 season.

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