INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Vijay Mallya's firm that had a stake in Force India, is subject to freezing order in favour of 13 banks.LONDON: One of the two main
bidders, keen to acquire embattled businessman Vijay Mallya's Force India Formula One racing team after it went into administration, has
Russian fertiliser group Uralkali said that by turning down its higher bid for the company, the administrators had denied the extra funds
that would have accrued to the shareholder of Force India - Mallya's Orange India Holdings Sarl - which is subject to a freezing order
against administrators FRP Advisory in the High Court in London on Thursday to claim "tens of millions of dollars" in damages over the
transparent bidding process" which led to the sale of Force India to the Racing Point consortium, led by Canadian billionaire Lawrence
meant most money to the stakeholders and qualitatively recapitalised the team We have serious concerns as to why the administrators did not
use the opportunity to maximise the amounts that could have been paid to creditors and shareholders," said Paul James Ostling, Senior
Independent Director of Uralkali, who led the firm's offer for Force India."Had he [administrator] taken our bid, because of the freezing
order, there would have been millions and millions more available for the ultimate stakeholders, which according to the freezing order are
extradition to India on fraud and money laundering charges amounting to nearly Rs 9,000 crore as a "unique character", Ostling said it had
been made clear to Uralkali that the administrator and team's engine partner Mercedes would not accept any deal in which either Mallya or
business deal with him to acquire Force India
When you are trying to do a deal with a man who is facing extradition and other charges, it made it extraordinarily difficult," said
Ostling, who indicated that Uralkali is still interested in acquiring Force India because it is a good racing team which "punches above its
But the team is a wonderful group of people; the drivers, mechanics, business people are an extraordinary group of 400 people who we adore
against the businessman, with a follow-up enforcement order in June in favour of the consortium of 13 banks to recover estimated funds of
around 1.145 billion pounds.Uralkali, which accounts for 20 per cent of the world's potash production, has been a partner of Force India
extremely generous offer to acquire Force India's business, assets and goodwill, which included a cash consideration between 101.5 million
The company sells its fertilisers to more than 60 countries worldwide, including 20 in which Formula One holds its Grand Prix Championship
but to launch legal proceedings and seek "substantial damages" from the administrators for their "misrepresentation and failure to conduct a
administrators claim Uralkali failed to submit a rescue offer, the Russian firm accuses the administrators of running an "opaque" process
that never made such a criterion for the bidding process clear
Uralkali now believes "everything will come out in the open" in the course of the matter being heard in the London High Court in coming
