Daimler AG and its partner Aabar Investment have now taken full control of the Mercedes GP team, after buying the final 24.9% share from the previous management team led by Ross Brawn.
Daimler, Mercedes' parent company, now owns 60% of the team, while Aabar, which is Daimler's largest single shareholder, owns the remaining 40%. Brawn, who alongside other investors bought the team from Honda ahead of the 2009 season, will stay on as team principal despite selling his share. Daimler said the deal underlined Mercedes' commitment to Formula One.
"This majority stake holding demonstrates our determination to build a long-term Formula One involvement on an even more successful platform," Dr. Dieter Zetsche, CEO of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars said. "Our company's founders invented the automobile 125 years ago and the very first Mercedes was a racing car. These are the reasons why we see our Formula One programme as an important element of our brand history. The acquisition of a majority stake holding in our Silver Arrows team sends a clear signal that we intend to achieve technical and sporting success on world motorsport's biggest and most important stage - and to do so in cost-effective conditions."
Brawn is confident it is a positive move for the future of the team.
"Daimler and Aabar's acquisition of the remaining 24.9% stake in Mercedes-Benz Grand Prix will be a further step in the consolidation and strengthening of our team for the future," he said. "Motor racing, particularly Formula One, is a very specialised industry, and we are privileged to have such strong and understanding partners as Daimler and Aabar to support our joint ambitions. I remain fully committed to our team for the long-term, along with the management team and all of our employees. We all look forward to the challenge of making our team successful, and proudly representing Mercedes-Benz and the racing tradition of the Silver Arrows."
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