28/08/2006
NEWS STORY
According to talk in the Istanbul paddock, McLaren, which welcomes Vodafone as title sponsor next season, is close to securing a £10m (a year) deal with Spanish bank Banesto.
The Spanish bank, part of Grupo Santander, is rapidly expanding, and will see Fernando Alonso's arrival at the Woking team as a perfect promotional vehicle, having already enjoyed success in cycling, with Miguel Indurain winning five consecutive Tour de France events with the Banesto team.
Although the deal has not been concluded, speaking in Istanbul at the weekend, McLaren boss Ron Dennis was keen to allay fears that his company has incurred financial problems, partly as a result of the construction of its state-of-the-art technology centre.
"We have never been more economically strong," the Englishman told reporters. "We have the biggest portfolio of contracted sponsorship in the history of the company and I believe that's probably the history of any grand prix team. We have the lowest debt, I believe, of any grand prix team in the pitlane. It's less than $20 million. Our balance sheet is about $300 million."
Referring to recent reports, mainly in the German media, that DaimlerChrysler is seeking to increase its shareholding in McLaren, Dennis said: "It's something that's regularly discussed, how to strengthen the relationship, every three or four months.
"Things change," he continued. "Obviously, we've had three chief executive changes at Mercedes-Benz and a new chairman. This tends to get brought back on to the table when these things happen and we talk endlessly but there is absolutely no intention to do anything that doesn't either strengthen the relationship or make us more competitive.
"There is no desire from Mansour (Ojjeh) or myself to do anything other than achieve that objective," he added, referring to the Saudi investor, who, like Dennis, owns 30 percent of the remaining shares.
As for reports that any such buy-out might see Dennis walk off into the sunset, the 59-year-old said: "Clearly I am getting on a bit but by many people's standards I've got a few years left in me to push hard. My consideration is always what's best for the team and the company."