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Lopez states interest in buying Renault
ESPNF1 Staff
December 10, 2009
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'The situation is such right now that it provides an opportunity for new teams and new investors' © Sutton Images
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Gerard Lopez, the founder of technology investment company Mangrove Capital Partners, has openly stated he is interested in buying the Renault Formula One team.
"We see the whole environment as providing an opportunity," Lopez, an early investor in Skype, and chairman of Genii Capital, told a forum in Monaco. "We've been involved in Formula One for some time as friends for some people, but never thought about getting more heavily involved than that.
"The situation is such right now that it provides an opportunity for new teams and new investors. It's not a time of uncertainty but a time of change. Times of change usually provide an entry point.
"We believe there is a chance to enter the sport and build a platform that sort of has to reinvent itself. If we were to become part of F1 we could be part of that reinvention."
Lopez was one of four potential buyers hinted at by Bernie Ecclestone on Monday and there has been media speculation that he is the favoured purchaser.
"The business opportunities in F1 lie very rarely in making money out of your team," Lopez continued. "They should lie in making money out of the business platform that you have. Put any seasoned executive into F1 and they turn into a big kid. It makes them much more approachable. So for us, F1 is an excellent business-to-business platform."
The Prodrive company of former BAR and Benetton team boss David Richards, who is chairman of Aston Martin, has also been linked to the takeover.
Renault has remained silent on the speculation but said its future would be decided by the end of the year.
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