66 replies to this topic

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Vijay Mallya has suffered a serious setback in the high court in London with a judge ruling that a legal judgment against him in India can be enforced against his assets in England and Wales, which means that they may be seized and sold. The ruling, handed down by Andrew Henshaw QC, was sought by a consortium of Indian state-owned banks to which Malaya and various of his companies owe more that $1.3 billion. This follows an Indian ruling in the Debt Recovery Tribunal in Karnataka in January.

“There is a risk of the value of Dr Mallya’s assets deteriorating, and, or, being subject to claims by other creditors, and a risk of Dr Mallya being declared bankrupt,” Henshaw wrote. “Dr Mallya’s departure from India, to where he has never since returned, and his resistance to India’s application to extradite him to face trial on serious criminal charges, provide some grounds for regarding him as a fugitive from justice.”

The case sets a precedent allowing the use of worldwide freezing order when enforcing judgments. An application to appeal was rejected on the grounds that there is a serious risk that Mallya could dispose of his assets, referring in his response to Diageo money that Mallya placed in trust funds for his children and to a valuable sword that he claims to have given away. Mallya was ordered to pay costs of $300,000.

Mallya is still waiting to hear whether the extradition case against him in the UK will go ahead but remains in the UK with his creditors now able to sell his assets.

it is not clear whether his shares in Force India will be covered by the order. The team is owned by a Luxembourg holding company and his shares are controlled by a company in Mauritius. However, Mallya needs to live and is used to an expensive lifestyle and so he maybe need to sell assets elsewhere. His partner in Force India, Subrata Roy of Sahara, in similar trouble in India last week agreed to sell the Plaza Hotel in New York.

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

Nova podnica, donja slika

 

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

Novo četvoroelementno T krilo

 

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

ФИ финансијски стоји на танком леду. Малија и нови сувласник Рој полако остају без буџета скојим покривају трошкове. Спомињу се две опције, прва је она неизбежна односно банкрот а ова друга опција је продаја тима.

Шушка се да су шест инвеститора заинтересована а двоје који су се потенционално открили су Андрети Аутоспорт и фабрика шећерне водице Рич Енерџи.

Донедавно се спомињао и Бребем али за сада невидим зашто би Давид ишао на такав ризик. У будућности можда али сада то није паметно.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

 

There may at some point be another windtunnel built at Silverstone, as there have long been plans for Force India to build such a facility alongside the current factory. It has all been held back by lack of money but it is looking increasingly likely that the team will soon be sold as none of the owners is in a position to pay for it. Money is very tight and there are creditors baying at the doors and the danger of winding up orders if the team does not either pay or seek protection from bankruptcy. Although Vijay Mallya gives the impression of a man suffering serious delusions, it is clear that there are a string of buyers lining up. Perhaps no-one has yet agreed the price he wants, but if he is not careful the team will end up being sold off by an administrator, as a going concern. Among those interested are the Stroll family, which currently funds the disastrous efforts of Williams, there is Force India sponsor BWT, a water company from Austria; there is a much-trumpeted consortium including an energy drink that no-one has seen, which is supported by publishers-turned-sport entrepreneurs David Sullivan and David Gold, who own West Ham United football team. There is another consortium from the United States, which is believed to include Mexican-American Tavo Hellmund who may or may not be involved with a New York private equity fund called Castle Harlan. There is also a bid from Andretti Autosport, which is being linked to Rockefeller Capital Management (RCM), an ambitious private equity operation, linked to a huge hedge fund. This organisation recently helped baseball player Derek Jeter purchase the Miami Marlins. This bid would likely include Alexander Rossi, as he has unfinished business in F1. Much depends on decisions that need to be made about the budget cap in F1, which will pump value into the teams. The latest word is that a $150 million budget cap will be introduced by 2023, with budgets coming down in increments each year.

[alberto.ascari]

I dobro, jel' kupio matori Stroll ili nije?

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Nije jos niko kupio, svi cekaju sta ce biti s ogranicenjem budzeta. Ako ne bude ogranicenja onda verovatno niko nece ni kupiti.

[4_Webber]

"According to Autobild, Lawrence Stroll has bought Force India"

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

If one looks through the officials lists of UK companies facing winding up petitions this week, one finds the name Force India Formula 1 Team Ltd in a case in London, which was scheduled for Wednesday (CR-2018-004624).

The word in Budapest is that this has triggered the team to seek bankruptcy protection of a very specific form, known as a pre-pack administration that means that the sale of the business and assets of the company is negotiated before the appointment of administrators and completes either immediately upon – or shortly following – their appointment. This differs from the standard process where administrators begin looking for buyers after their appointment.

This means that a company can go on trading as a going concern without it impacting operations. This is important in F1 because if the team is declared to be insolvent, it loses all its rights and benefits under the terms of the commercial agreements. We have seen in the past that administration is not in itself insolvency, while being wound up ends all benefits.

The next step if this is agreed by the court is for the administrator to organise a creditors’ meeting to discuss what happens in the future. The good news is that there is no shortage of buyers, with at least five potential bidders rumoured to be in the mix. However, if there is a pre-pack arrangement under discussion this would indicate that Force India has a preference. We will bring further information as it emerges.

 

U prevodu - poverioci su tuzili Fors Indiju i traze zaplenu imovine na ime svojih potrazivanja. Fors je zbog toga proglasio bankrot, ali takve vrste koja im dozvoljava poslovanje jer navodno imaju zainteresovanog kupca s kojim su u zavrsnoj fazi pregovora. Da li ce ovaj manevar da im prodje ili ce tim biti likvidiran zavisi od odluke suda.

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Force India is set for an ownership change in the coming weeks after a court appearance regarding the winding up of the company.

The ‘Companies Court Winding Up List’ in the United Kingdom shows Force India Formula One Team Limited listed on Wednesday July 25, amid continued speculation that the team will enter administration before being taken over by new ownership. With team owner Vijay Mallya facing a number of financial concerns in his native India, chief operating officer Otmar Szafnauer admits the recent constraints have hurt the team but is confident its ownership situation will be resolved in the coming weeks.

“There is a high correlation between critical financial situation and the sporting situation,” Szafnauer said. “The more money you have in this game, usually the better you do. But hopefully that will be solved soon and we’ll get back to operating in the normal manner that we are used to.

“We are just in this critical period, which might last a week or two; we have to keep our heads down, do the best we can here, after the test enjoy our break and then come back fighting thereafter.

“I think [fresh investment] is imminent. I know there’s discussions going on in the background. I’m not privy to those because it’s a shareholder issue and I’m not a shareholder, otherwise I would know more. But it will be very soon.”

Lance Stroll’s father Lawrence has been linked with investment into the team — which has finished fourth in the constructors’ championship in each of the last two years — but Szafnauer says the uncertainty over the team’s financial future will not distract from its on-track performance.

“We’re used to operating under such constraints. I think the situation’s critical because the midfield’s gotten very competitive. Where last year probably at this time we enjoyed a bit of a gap to our midfield competitors, that doesn’t exist anymore and, depending on what racetrack we go to, some of our competitors are a bit quicker than we are, and at other ones we are a bit quicker than they are.

“So, it’s going to be a big fight in the midfield. If you have financial constraints – which I believe our constraints are greater than some of our midfield competitors – it makes it harder. But we’re here to do the best we can and we’ll continue to push and try to get two points finishes and we’re still focussing on getting fourth again.”

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

Perez je taj sto je pokrenuo sudski postupak za stecaj Fors Indije!
 

Perez: I took painful action to save Force India



By: Chris Medland | 3 hours ago


Above: Sergio Perez celebrates his third-place finish at the Azerbaijan GP in April.

Sergio Perez says his “heart is broken” but that he had to take action against Force India in order to save the team from closing down.

Force India has been struggling financially in recent years, but the situation has worsened with team owner Vijay Mallya fighting extradition to India to face fraud charges. The team was placed in administration on Friday after Perez triggered legal action, supported by Mercedes, in order to try and make a change of ownership more likely, and the Mexican says it is a decision he took to protect the team.

“In the end, I end up in a very difficult situation,” Perez said. “The last month or so has been extremely tough for me, with the situation that our team was [in]. In the end, I ended up in the middle. We got to a point where action had to be taken, to protect the 400 people who work in the team.

“I should not really like to be involved in this, because at the end of the day, I’m just a driver, and I’m just here to drive. I tried to focus but then it got too much. I was asked by a couple of members of the team to go ahead and save the team and protect the 400 people who were working there.

“For me, it was hard because emotionally and mentally, it’s really tough, I haven’t been able to focus on my driving, on being a racing driver. There were so many things out of that. But the picture is much bigger than it looks at the moment. We might go into a painful period but the outcome will be really good for all the team.”

While the fact that he is owed millions in salary allowed him to trigger proceedings, Perez says the reason for his action was not in order to receive that money.

“Monies due are from last year. The thing is, there was a winding up petition from another customer, which would have closed down the team completely. Therefore I was asked to save the team, to pull the trigger and put the team into administration. It was nothing to do with my outstanding amounts. The only reason I have done it was to save the team and for the better future for the team.”

And Perez says he is enjoying the support of Force India during the current situation, although fears not everyone has been made aware of the reasons for his involvement.

“Definitely, I’m sure everyone appreciates what I have done and if they don’t appreciate it right now because a couple of members of the team don’t know the full picture, if they don’t appreciate it now, they will appreciate it in a week or so, because they will find out what the reason is behind it.

“I’ve seen some quotes in the media from you, saying I’ve done it for the sake of getting my money. That had nothing to do with it. It’s mainly to protect the team, which is quite easy in the media, to create those stories. I have been put in this position. It’s not something I’m enjoying and liking it but in the end, I have to make the decision to protect the 400 people who are working here.

“Personally, I love Vijay, my heart is broken because I know this is not ideal in the short term for him. But the big picture is really different. I have gone through a very difficult moment emotionally more than mentally. For me, it’s been hard the position I’ve been put in. So yeah, I have to say, I’m not going through a good time at the moment.”

[/13/Ален Шмит/]

Neko mora "trgnuti" tim, situacija je alarmantna i to se još znalo nazimus kada je Vilijams stavio veto na financijsku pomoć FI od strane F1. Vilijams je tada veto objasnio rečima "mi uzimamo velike žrtve da bi spasili tim, recimo uzmemo plaćenog vozača ili sl. a FI se samo rasipa novcem koji nikako neće vratiti".

[Rad-oh-yeah?]

28 July 2018
The latest on Force India


The Formula India F1 team is now in administration. It is being run by Geoff Rowley and James Baker of FRP Advisory, a well-known insolvency firm. Rowley is well-versed in the ways of Formula 1, having dealt with the Marussia and Manor F1 administrations in the past. The first step will be to call a meeting of creditors and then move forward trying to find a buyer for the team as a going concern.

Vijay Mallya is no longer in control but he is claiming to be the biggest creditor, through the Orange India holding company in Luxembourg. The biggest creditor beyond this is believed to be Mercedes (although it seems that more than one Mercedes entity is involved). The outstanding debt to the German firm is believed to be in the region of $13 million. There are a number of other creditors, mainly parts suppliers.

The current excitements began in the middle of last week when there was a winding up petition, rumoured to be from HMRC. This was settled but another creditor joined the action and the petition hearing was adjourned when an administration application was filed by a Guernsey-based company called Brockstone Ltd, which is a management company that oversees Sergio Perez. This claimed $4 million which had not been paid. There are some in the F1 paddock who believe that this action was a stalking horse for Mercedes because the car manufacturer does not want to be seen to be taking such actions. It is clear that Mercedes needs to protect its situation.

The administration hearing took place yesterday and was adjourned midway through when a sponsorship contract was presented suggesting that Rich Energy would inject $19 million in 2018 and a similar figure in 2019. The judge considered the arrangement and rejected it as not being a credible method of saving the team and so it was placed in administration late on Friday night. There are believed to be four possible buyers at the moment although it is possible that they will be joined by others, and that one or more of them could combine to come up with a business plan that FRP Advisory will accept and put before the judge to allow the firm to exit administration.

“We shall be engaging with key stakeholders on an urgent basis to secure the best outcome for creditors," Rowley said in a statement. "In the meantime, the team will continue to operate as normal, including racing in Hungary this weekend. Our aim is for business as usual whilst we assess options to secure the future of the team."

The Rich Energy bid, which is supposed to be supported by publishers-turned-sport entrepreneurs David Sullivan and David Gold, may still make a play for the team but with the judge having been so dismissive it would need a very convincing package. 

There is believed to be another bid from a New York private equity fund called Castle Harlan, which may involve the Mexican-American Tavo Hellmund. There is also a bid by Rockefeller Capital Management (RCM), a subsidiary of Viking Global Investors, a hedge fund based in Greenwich, Connecticut, which has around $28 billion under management. RCM has ambitious plans to increase its portfolio and recently helped the celebrated baseball player Derek Jeter buy the Miami Marlins baseball team. There may also be a bid from Michael Andretti, with support from a private equity group, which may or may not be linked to one of the above.

The big question now is whether or not we will see some changes before the F1 circus gathers again at Spa, with the suggestion being that Esteban Ocon may be in a position to leave and move to Renault, displacing Carlos Sainz. There have been rumours for several weeks that Sainz could be on his way to McLaren and even suggestions that this could all happen immediately. There is also the question of Lawrence Stroll, who is often touted as being a possible buyer of Force India. It is more likely that the canny enterpreneur will not buy the team but may provide convertible loans to keep the business running healthily and will then cash these in when the team is sold by the administrator. This would make way for Lance Stroll to switch out of the mess at Williams and get into a more competitive car at Force India. This would then open the way for Mercedes protege George Russell to join Williams. He would fit the Williams profile as a rising British star, but the key question there is how this would be funded. There is increasing talk of Williams doing a deal to buy more Mercedes technology rather than doing it all themselves and one can imagine that Russell's involvement would be aided by Mercedes.

One must also remember that the Formula One group will play a role in the process because it wants a credible owner of the team and one that meets the strategic goals of the organisation (ie something with an American flavour).

Having said all of this, the situation remains fluid and while F1 may have seen the last of Vijay Mallya and his business partner Subrata Roy of Sahara, his adventures are far from over as he is due back in court in London next week to face extradition charges.

 

Haha, Malija je najveci poverilac Forsa, sam sebi covek duguje koji prevarant

[alpiner]

Shortly after a qualifying session in which he and his teammate failed to make it into Q2, Sergio Perez sat down with the media to talk about a far more troubling matter, his legal move against Force India which resulted in the team going into administration.

In the wake of the news that the Silverstone had been placed into administration and its affairs placed into the hands of FRP Advisory LLP, it was revealed that the move was led by Perez who is understood to be owed in the region of 4m euros, his action supported by Mercedes and sponsor BWT.

"I love Vijay," said the Mexican. "My heart is really broken because I know this is not ideal in the short term for him, but the big picture is really different.

"The bottom line of this is that we do this or the team would have gone bust," he continued. "That's what I get from the lawyers and members of the team.

"There was a winding-up petition from another customer which would have closed down the team completely," he revealed. "Therefore I was asked to basically save the team, to pull the trigger and put the team into administration. It has nothing to do with my outstanding amounts. The only reason I've done it is to save the team and for its better future.

"I am sure everyone appreciates what I've done and if they don't appreciate it right now, because a couple of members of the team don't know the full picture, they will appreciate it in a week's time or so."

Aware of the situation for the last few weeks, Perez admits that worrying over the situation has impacted his driving.

"Emotionally and mentally it's really tough," he said. "I haven't been able to focus on my driving and being a racing driver... I'm not going through a good time at the moment."

Asked about team co-owner Vijay Mallya, he said: "He's going through a very difficult time, not just legally but also financially.

"I hope that whatever happens, Vijay is happy with that and gets a good benefit from that.

"Secondly, I hope to have a team that is more stable and can go on to the next level and be a racing team," he added. "We were not a racing team since the beginning of the year."

A number of names are currently in the frame in terms of potential buyers, Canadian billionaire Lawrence stroll seemingly on pole. However, the Silverstone was keen to post a congratulatory message on Twitter tonight congratulating Nicolas Mazepin on his GP3 performance in Hungary, the Russian youngster's father said to be another potential buyer.

Then again, nobody appears to have mentioned the elephant shaped pinata in the room... a certain Carlos Slim.

[alberto.ascari]