Stoddart Planning to Sell European Aviation (Updated)

Minardi owner Paul Stoddart says he is close to selling his European Aviation Air Charter business to an unnamed bidder.

But the Australian businessman told Reuters today that the impending deal was not linked to the precarious future of his Formula One team.

"We've had an offer and we're most likely going to accept it," said Stoddart. "It's only the airline, not the spares business."

Stoddart's unlisted airline has valuable licences to operate Boeing 747 and 737 jets worldwide and uses Bournemouth airport on Britain's south coast. He bought five retired 747-200 jumbo jets from British Airways in December last year for an undisclosed price.

The Australian would not name the prospective purchaser but said the deal was considerably less than he had been offered three years ago before the aviation business suffered the effects of last year's September 11 attacks.

Stoddart said the airline needed investment at a level that he could not supply and the money raised would go into the remaining European business and not the racing team.

"The money is not going back into Formula One," he said.

The Minardi boss has used his planes to fly team personnel and freight to long-haul races this season and he said that could continue.

"Just because I don't own the airline doesn't mean we can't organise the flights," he said. "Don't be surprised to see us organising a charter between a few teams."

Stoddart warned at the season-ending Japanese Grand Prix that he could quit the sport after four rival teams gave notice that they intended to go to arbitration to try and recover money paid to Minardi by Formula One authorities.

The television money was originally due to the now defunct Prost team. However Stoddart sounded much more confident about the future after a meeting of the Formula One commission on Monday agreed a raft of changes for next season.

"It seems to be subsiding," he said of the arbitration threat. "It's not gone away but I think common sense will prevail and I'm fairly confident that we'll suffer no financial effect from that.

"I don't foresee Minardi having to pay that money out."