Genii Capital acquires De Tomaso
Genii Capital, the investment fund and owner of Lotus in F1, has acquired the bankrupt Italian manufacturer De Tomaso. To allow it to change the name of its team in the future?
Since 2012, the Enstone team has found itself in a paradoxical situation: it bears the name of a company with which it no longer has any ties. Indeed, at the time, the manufacturer Lotus had decided to stop funding the team it was the title sponsor of since the finances of its parent company, the Malaysian manufacturer Proton, were in dire straits.
An agreement was then reached to allow the team to keep this historic name in F1. However, while its name and colors hold significance in the historical context, they provide no added value to the Luxembourg investment fund. Hence the idea of imitating the strategy implemented at the time by Tony Fernandes: buying a car manufacturer to give its name to his F1 team. That’s what he did with Caterham… before selling everything.
The rumor of a De Tomaso purchase had been circulating for a year, but it was realized by the victory in the auctions held to decide the new owner. Patrick Louis, the automobile head at Genii Capital, commented on this two-million-euro purchase: « The suspense was really intense for the three parties in the running. The sale took place in front of a full house with the local press and former company employees present. We were the only ones to propose a detailed industrial plan for the takeover of the Italian manufacturer. When the judge announced the adjudication, there was a lot of applause. »
It remains to be seen if the brand will also make its return to F1, after leaving it in 1970 following the failed collaboration with Frank Williams.
With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr
