Stroll takeover 'not in the best interests' of Force India

Lawrence Stroll's takeover of the Force India Formula 1 team has been branded "not in the best interests" of the team's creditors and the sport as a whole by a rival bidder. Uralkali - a potash production company owned by the billionaire father of GP3 racer Nikita Mazepin - has revealed itself as one of the interested parties overlooked in favour of Stroll.

The Stroll-led consortium was confirmed as Force India's new owners just 11 days after the team had been placed into administration - a move prompted by action from driver Sergio Perez, who later revealed he had done so at the request of senior staff.

More than 400 jobs were saved by the takeover, although it was not a simple process, with several other parties - most notably Dmitry Mazepin and British drinks company Rich Energy - rivalling the Stroll consortium.

In a lengthy statement, Uralkali alleged that administrators FRP Advisory had given them deadlines that proved "not achievable" to put together a complez rescue package.

According to Uralkali, they submitted their proposal on August 3 - the Stroll consortium was confirmed as new owners just four days later.

The Russian company claim that three bids were made to strike a deal, however FRP "refused to engage with Uralkali team, did not reply to phone calls and emails and communicated with Uralkali in a single email following close of business on August 7, 2018 that it had entered into an exclusivity arrangement with another bidder regarding a proposal to rescue the company."

Uralkali summed up in their 934-word release: "Uralkali always emphasised its desire to bring transparency, proper corporate governance and financial stability to Force India. In this connection, Uralkali considers that the process conducted by the Administrator may not be in the best interests of Force India creditors and other stakeholders, and the sport in general."

Despite a scathing assessment of the deal and the methods taken to get there, Uralkali did not publicly threaten legal action and there is no suggestion that the Stroll takeover is under substantial threat.

When contacted by GPFans, FRP Advisory said in a statement: "All bidders were given equal opportunity to submit the best deal for Force India. Throughout, we (the Joint Administrators) have closely followed our statutory duties and objectives as administrators and had the advice of experienced legal counsel."