16/01/2007
NEWS STORY
McLaren boss Ron Dennis has said that last week's deal, which saw the Mumtalakat Holding Company, which is wholly owned by the Kingdom of Bahrain, buy 30 percent of his company, is just the beginning, as his company looks to the future.
Many in F1 were taken by surprise when the deal was announced since it was widely thought that DaimlerChrysler, which already owns 40 percent of McLaren, was seeking a further stake in the company. However, when Dennis and Mansour Ojjeh decided to sell 15 percent of their individual stakes - leaving them both with a further 15 percent - it was to Mumtalakat.
"It gives us just the ability to raise our sights and to grow the group," Dennis told reporters ahead of the launch of his team's 2007 contender. "We've got unfulfilled ambitions as a group and this will contribute to fulfilling those ambitions, but I can't give you the details at this stage."
Referring to DaimlerChrysler, Dennis confirmed that the company had given its full approval to the Bahraini deal.
"Clearly, for all the shareholders to support it it has to be good for everybody," said the Englishman. "No one is unsupportive of what we are looking to achieve. The movement of shares is just one of several steps that will be taken during the course of the next months or years. It is only a beginning.
"I wouldn't just see it as a monetary thing," he insisted, "it is a bit more elaborate than that."
One question that must be asked is how the Bahrain deal sits alongside the Johnny Walker (Diageo, the world's leading premium drinks business) sponsorship of the Vodafone McLaren Mercedes F1 team, when much is made of the fact, that for religious reasons, Warrd - a soft drink comprising tropical fruit and rose water - is used in the podium ceremony at Sakhir rather than the traditional Champagne.