FEBRUARY 28, 2002

Deutsche Bank looks at F1

AS we speculated a while ago, the giant Deutsche Bank may be looking to buy some of the shares of SLEC, the Formula 1 holding company, from the Kirch Group. The cash would help Kirch raise cash and would give Deutsche Bank the chance to get control of the commercial rights. Leo Kirch is rumored to have had a meeting to discuss the problems with Josef Ackermann, the designated chairman of Deutsche Bank.

The proposals under discussion would result in Deutche Bank including the car manufacturers as part of the deal in the longer term. This would stop the need for manufacturers to start their own series in 2008 and would result in a new Concorde Agreement.