Lafiti bails out Williams | FerrariChat

Lafiti bails out Williams

Discussion in 'F1' started by william, Apr 10, 2020.

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  1. william

    william Two Time F1 World Champ
    Silver Subscribed

    Jun 3, 2006
    25,447
    Lafiti bails out Williams


    http://www.gptoday.com/full_story/view/715223/Latifi_bails_out_Williams/


    Although the amount is unclear, Michael Latifi, father of driver Nicholas, has joined HSBC in refinancing the company's corporate borrowings.

    Worryingly, the loan is secured on the team's factories, land, plant machinery and even its historic collection of over one hundred title and race-winning cars.

    Latifi, it will be recalled, also has a $100m stake in McLaren. [it was rumoured to be $250 in McLaren Group, not the F1 team]

    "Following the sale of Williams Advanced Engineering at the end of 2019 we began a refinancing process," Claire Williams told Motorsport.com. "After considering a number of options, we have now concluded our refinancing with a consortium of lenders, all of which was negotiated on an arms-length commercial basis.

    "The loan package provides us with the resources that we need moving forward," she added.

    Latifi's involvement in the deal is through Latrus Racing, which he founded in 2012, and is involved in the racing activities of son, Nicholas.

    Since the youngster was promoted to the race seat alongside George Russell, Latifi has brought a number of his companies on board as team sponsors as well as brokering a number of other deals for the team.

    Whatever way one looks at it, at a time the likes of Jean Todt and Zak Brown admits their fears for the future, the American admitting earlier this week that the sport risks losing as many as four teams, for Williams to risk everything in this way is somewhat surprising and an admission of just how bad things are... despite the positive spin.


    Last year, Williams sold a majority stake in Advanced Engineering to EMK Capital. In the meantime, it has become clear that this was accompanied by a thorough refinancing. Claire Williams is able to reveal this on Friday afternoon.

    Advanced Engineering is completely separate from the Formula 1 team, as this department is only involved in the development and production of parts for the aerospace and automotive industries.
     
  2. Simon^2

    Simon^2 F1 World Champ

    Oct 17, 2005
    12,313
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    Sounds a lot like Latifi just bought himself an F1 team...
     
  3. Ferrari 308 GTB

    Ferrari 308 GTB F1 Veteran

    Feb 21, 2015
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    Wonder boy should be safe for a while longer...any more Canadian billionaires wanna join in the fun?
     
  4. Isobel

    Isobel F1 World Champ

    Jun 30, 2007
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    Is, Izzy for Australians
    I’d do it but the Jeep has another damn engine check light on so....
     
    Bas, stavura, Ferrari 308 GTB and 2 others like this.
  5. Nembo1777

    Nembo1777 F1 World Champ
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    Marc Sonnery
    I think it was the plan all along, the Williams family saw the writing on the wall long ago...
     
    375+ likes this.
  6. Mitch Alsup

    Mitch Alsup F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    9,252
    The first 5 times I read that sentence I read "Lafiti bails out at Williams"
     
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  7. A348W

    A348W Formula 3

    Jun 28, 2017
    1,741
    North Wiltshire, UK
    Didn't even know there were two billionaires in Canada!!

    So F1 is going to become a pi****contest between the two Canadians. Aston Martin/Racing Point Vs Mclaren/Williams!!


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    polishhammer83, Igor Ound and Isobel like this.
  8. Simon^2

    Simon^2 F1 World Champ

    Oct 17, 2005
    12,313
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    Don't fret,... after a couple years in F1... there will be 2 less billionaires in Canada!
     
  9. bernardo66

    bernardo66 The Crazy Cat Man
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    Dec 14, 2003
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    Bernie
    Unless of course the last Covid market crash took care of the billionaire status.
     
  10. bernardo66

    bernardo66 The Crazy Cat Man
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    Bernie
    About 40 or so billionaires in Canada. Of which Latifi is not one of them.
     
  11. Ferrari 308 GTB

    Ferrari 308 GTB F1 Veteran

    Feb 21, 2015
    7,716
    Tropical
    His wifey wears the pants,between them they doing 'ok'
     
    bernardo66 likes this.
  12. bernardo66

    bernardo66 The Crazy Cat Man
    Lifetime Rossa Owner

    Dec 14, 2003
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    Bernie
    Billionaire or not....still has more coin than most of us. :D
     
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