16/01/2008
NEWS STORY
According to Germany's Auto Motor und Sport, Mercedes is, as widely speculated, seeking to increase its stake in the McLaren F1 Team and associated companies.
The German manufacturer currently owns 40 percent, with Bahrain's Mumtalakat Holding Company owning another 30 percent and Ron Dennis and Mansour Ojjeh each holding 15 percent.
Mercedes is known to have been 'unhappy' in early 2007 when Dennis and Ojjeh sold a 30 slice of the company to the Mumtalakat Holding Company at a time when the German manufacturer was known to be keen to increase its stake.
The recent spy saga, which cost McLaren $100m and exclusion from the 2007 Constructors' Championship, has led to speculation regarding Dennis' future with the team he bought into in 1980.
According to Auto Motor und Sport, has already agreed basic terms to increase its stake, however, the German giant has refused to confirm (or deny) the story.
"The status quo has not changed at all," a Mercedes spokesman told Reuters. "Daimler still holds 40 percent of the McLaren Group. We ask for your understanding that we will not comment on speculation beyond this."