Grapevine: Banks could scupper CVC deal

A report in The Business, has suggested that two banks JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers, who both have a minority stake in the sport, have a right to purchase any stake put up for sale under the terms of their current deal.

It means that majority shareholder Bayerische Landesbank has to offer the stake they planned to sell to CVC to the two American banks - and The Business claims both banks are insisting the clause is honoured.

It means they will be able to get hold of the shares at the same price that CVC were offering.

If that is true, then it could lead to the collapse of the CVC deal just one week after it was announced to the public.

Such a situation would once again lead to more uncertainty about the sport's future, at the very time when car manufacturers are reaching the point of no return in their plans for a breakaway championship.