07/02/2010
NEWS STORY
They say life begins at 40 but in the case of Formula One's billionaire boss Bernie Ecclestone things are just starting to get interesting in his 80th year.
In early January Ecclestone launched a bid for ailing Swedish car manufacturer Saab with Luxembourg-based private equity firm Genii Capital. This fell through at the end of the month with the duo citing a lack of time to implement a "solid business platform for the future."
However, just days before the bid hit the buffers, Ecclestone told Pitpass' business editor Chris Sylt over lunch that "if this falls through, when we meet again we will be trying to take over something else and it will be my second attempt."
It can't come soon enough for Genii and its chairman Gerard Lopez who Ecclestone says informed him of the Saab opportunity in the first place. The bid brought a welcome boost to Genii's profile just at the right time as it is currently courting sponsors for the F1 team it bought from Renault at the end of last year.
As the car's barren livery revealed at its recent launch, Genii has a long road ahead of it.