Mallya sells 42.5-% stake in Force India F1 team to Subroto Roy for $100 million
13 Oct 2011
Liquor and aviation tycoon Vijay Mallya, facing a liquidity crunch in his business empire, on Wednesday sold a 42.5-per cent stake in his Force India F1 team to Subroto Roy, chairman of Sahara India, for $100 million.
The two businessmen signed a deal in Delhi on Wednesday, following which they will have an equal, 42.5 per cent share in the venture. The Mol family from the Netherlands controls the remaining 15 per cent.
Mallya, however, will continue to be the 'team principal.'
The Force India F1 team has also been renamed as Sahara Force India. The first Formula 1 Grand Prix to be hosted in India will be held at the Jaypee Sports International track in Greater Noida on October 30.
The Force India F1 team was created in 2007 after Mallya and Jan and Michiel Mol, Dutch e-commerce businessmen, founded a joint venture, Orange India Holdings, which bought the F1 team from Dutch automaker Spyker Cars NV, for a reported 88 million euros.
The following year, the first-ever Indian Formula 1 team entered into the FIA Formula One World championship.
Both Mallya and Roy are high-flying businessmen, who own various sports teams. While Mallya owns Kingfisher Airlines, Roy had also ventured into the aviation sector starting Sahara Airlines, which he later sold to Jet Airways.
Mallya owns the Indian Premier League cricket team Royal Challengers, while Roy's Sahara group owns the new Pune Warriors IPL team. It also sponsors the Indian national cricket team and had earlier supported the national hockey team.
