Russian-born tycoon takes over Jordan Formula One team
LONDON: The struggling Jordan Formula One team announced yesterday it would be taken over by Midland Group, owned by Russian-born businessman Alex Shnaider.
Jordan, founded by Irishman Eddie Jordan, will continue to drive under the name Jordan Grand Prix in 2005.
Shnaider said his original plan to launch a Midland team had been altered only “insignificantly” by the Jordan takeover which would give Midland a season of learning. No financial details were available.
“I wholeheartedly believe that Midland joining with Jordan will make the team stronger,” said Eddie Jordan who will remain with the team in a commercial capacity after the takeover.
“I spoke to a number of interested parties in recent months and these are absolutely the right people.
“They are totally committed and as we look to the future we will see this team return to the competitiveness we have proved we are capable of.”
Jordan finished ninth out of the 10 Formula One teams in 2004 and hit serious problems after Ford, who supplied the team's Cosworth engines, announced in September they were withdrawing from the sport.
Shnaider, a 36-year-old naturalised Canadian citizen based in Toronto who grew up in Israel, has made a fortune through the privately-owned Midland Group which has extensive interests across Russia, the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe.
“I am very pleased with this development as it will give us a season of learning, and after the takeover has been completed, the chance to be competitive faster at the pinnacle of motorsport,” Shnaider said in a statement.
“Our plan to build up a team from scratch has only been altered insignificantly as the establishment of the Midland F1 team will continue according to schedule.”
Taking over Jordan relieves Shnaider of the obligation to pay a mandatory $48 million bond to enter the sport as a new team while also conferring immediate rights to television income. – Reuters
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