Mercedes facing latest sponsor issue

Ian Parkes
Friday 18 November 2022 12:07 - Updated: 12:09

Mercedes is facing another sponsor issue just a week after being forced to suspend one of its partnerships.

Prior to the first practice session ahead of last weekend's São Paulo Grand Prix, Mercedes removed FTX branding from the cars of Lewis Hamilton and George Russell.

This followed news that FTX, one of the world's largest crypto exchanges, was scrambling to raise billions of dollars in funds to stave off a collapse.

A week later, TeamViewer has come under fire from one of its stakeholders for its sponsorship of both Premier League club Manchester United and Mercedes.

TeamViewer is a leading IT software company that joined forces with Mercedes as an official partner in March, 2021.

Petrus Advisers, an activist fund that has a three percent stake in TeamViewer, has accused the company of "appalling judgment" in its deals with Mercedes and Manchester United.

According to Bloomberg, via a letter from Petrus to TeamViewer executives, it has warned it will not tolerate the company spending more than £61million [€70m, $73m] on the deals which are around 1.4 times its net profit.

Manchester United is reportedly being paid £47.5million [€54m, $57m] per year for a shirt sponsorship deal that runs through to 2026. Mercedes has a contract through to the end of 2025 but its value is unknown.

In the letter from Petrus, it demanded TeamViewer "stop bleeding millions and rapidly disengage from this mess.

It added: “We, therefore, demand that you enter professional exit discussions with a clear goal of a quick solution and that you do it immediately.”

In response, TeamViewer said via a statement it "values constructive interaction and dialogue with investors and is fully dedicated to the common goal of long-term value creation, and that it was continuously assessing its financial position.

It added: "As a result, TeamViewer had announced - as part of its Q2 communications - not to prolong the Manchester United partnership beyond its initial term.

"In addition, the company has already communicated its desire to explore opportunities to amend the existing contract."

It did not mention Mercedes in its statement, however, it is understood TeamViewer wishes to continue with the team as the deal works on an enterprise level and it recognises the growing value of F1 at present.