Former Force India sponsor Uralkali, which figured among the team's potential suitors last year, will have its day in court following its decision to contest the sales process overseen by the outfit's administrators.
Uralkali, a Russian potash producer which is partially owned by Dmitry Mazepin, the father of Formula 2 racer Nikita Mazepin, is suing FRP Advisory LLP's Geoffrey Paul Rowley and Jason Daniel Baker, the administrators of the Force India entity
Uralkali claims the company was the highest bidder for the team's assets, and unfairly lost out to the Racing Point consortium led by Lawrence Stroll. It is now seeking "substantial damages" as a result of what it considered as a "flawed sales process which ignored a higher bid for the business".
"The offer proposed sufficient funding to satisfy the claims of all creditors in full and included an undertaking to provide significant working capital and a new investment program over a five-year term to ensure the future success of Force India," the company said in a statement.
"The Company estimates that, after repayment of all valid claims of creditors and administrator’s costs its proposal would have resulted in more than £40 million being available to Force India`s shareholders and, consequently, further used as a source of repayment of any stakeholder claims."
"Based on facts confirmed to us by the Administrators, the bid accepted by the Administrators was significantly inferior to Uralkali’s bid. Uralkali’s bid should therefore have been the winner."
Uralkali's original bid was estimated to be between £101.5 million and £122 million for the team "depending on the specific structure of other bids".
London's High Court will address the case sometime between October and December 2020 based on evidence submitted by all involved parties.
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