Americas Cup - INEOS Britannia splits from Ben Ainslie

[Allan]

Apparently two of the most important rating agencies have downgraded Ineos.
Red flags raised after debts soar at Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s chemicals empire
Allan

 

[davidej]

You want to read the rant against Ratcliffe on the Manchester United fans website.

 

[Bobc]

Ben has just signed a deal with JP Morgan for the Sail GP team. Could this be his now AC sponsor? They are certainly big enough.

 

[bedouin]

Ben has just signed a deal with JP Morgan for the Sail GP team. Could this be his now AC sponsor? They are certainly big enough.

I doubt it - banks may give generous sponsorship deals but not the sort of cash it takes to run an AC campaign

A bank might put up £10-20milllion but the total cost is more like £200m (at a wild guess)

 

[Bobc]

I doubt it - banks may give generous sponsorship deals but not the sort of cash it takes to run an AC campaign

A bank might put up £10-20milllion but the total cost is more like £200m (at a wild guess)

JP Morgan Chase Manhatten.

Probably the biggest bank in the world...

 

[bedouin]

JP Morgan Chase Manhatten.

Probably the biggest bank in the world...

It's not that they can't afford it - that is all the deal is worth to them.

AC simply doesn't get enough coverage to be able to fund itself entirely through sponsorship, it needs billionaires who don't mind spending that sort of money for fun

 

[SaltIre]

Ben has just signed a deal with JP Morgan for the Sail GP team. Could this be his now AC sponsor? They are certainly big enough.

I think the "Sail GP" team is called Emirates GBR...

Emirates GBR

 

[Bobc]

I think the "Sail GP" team is called Emirates GBR...
View attachment 189650
Emirates GBR

Did I say that they were title sponsor?

Take a look at the back of the hull, and what do you see?

Emirates maybe the title sponsor of the Sail GP team, but they are also title sponsor and part owner of the NZ AC team, so they won't have anything to do with the Athena AC team. JP Morgan however, could well end up in the frame.

 

[Birdseye]

Apparently two of the most important rating agencies have downgraded Ineos.
Red flags raised after debts soar at Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s chemicals empire
Allan

Could be a part of the reason. Ratcliffe has thrown away money on silly venture sidelines like the yacht racing, the Grenadier and MUFC, all of which have been magnificent failures and a drain on his personal surplus cash. But then in business terms, the SailGB bit, or whatever it is called, has little publicity value. Yacht racing in the UK is of minor interest to the general public unlike the situation in France. I cant see why it would be of publicity interest to JPMorgan either - maybe if they supported an American team but a British one?

 

[dunedin]

It's not that they can't afford it - that is all the deal is worth to them.

AC simply doesn't get enough coverage to be able to fund itself entirely through sponsorship, it needs billionaires who don't mind spending that sort of money for fun

Yes as in ORACLE BMW - One Rich American Called Larry Ellison Blowing Millions Weekly

 

[Bobc]

Watch from 3:30

Not much Ineos branding on this years car. Just the inside of the front wing end-plate.

2025 Mercedes F1 car livery

 

[benjenbav]

Watch from 3:30

Not much Ineos branding on this years car. Just the inside of the front wing end-plate.

2025 Mercedes F1 car livery

As at the start of October 2024 (last published date) the ownership of MBGP was MB/Toto/Ineos equally.

Be interesting to see if that’s changed.

Could be that the original deal for Ineos to buy equity gave them an initial (but time limited) period where their name was more prominently displayed … or 100 other explanations.

 

[jlavery]

Athena Racing representing the RYS as Challenger Of Record.

I may be behind the curve on this and is old news - no date on the announcement:

Challenger Of Record - Royal Yacht Squadron Racing

 

[doris]

The term toxic Ineos was rife around south Wales when Radcliffe reneged on his promise to make his land rover copies there. At the time I thought I was mishearing the company name and it was a mistake to call it something that could be mistaken for Toxic Ineos!
Allan

The Sheep sha**ers really should stop blaming Ineos for accepting a completely fitted automotive factory from Mercedes for a pittance.

 

[Allan]

The Sheep sha**ers really should stop blaming Ineos for accepting a completely fitted automotive factory from Mercedes for a pittance.

Maybe the head of Toxic Ineos should have 'his people' check all possibilities before making promises?
Allan

 

[Birdseye]

The Sheep sha**ers really should stop blaming Ineos for accepting a completely fitted automotive factory from Mercedes for a pittance.

Whoa there. Presumably the people who lost out on this are the French authorities who outbid the Welsh to buy the deal.

 

[Allan]

Today's FT is reporting that Ineos have backed out the Americas cup.
Ratcliffe’s Ineos withdraws from America’s Cup yacht race
Allan

 

[Tranona]

Suspect this is as much to do with reducing expenditure on sponsorship as much as the reasons given. Ineos sponsorship for F1 has reduced significantly this year even though they own 33% . Probably unwilling to commit to more long term expenditure.

 

[MikeBz]

There’s an overwhelming taste of sour grapes in that INEOS statement.

 

[bedouin]

That's all a bit odd - surely if there was a deal on the table then they would have reached an agreement - perhaps Ben has another partner in mind, but hard to see who it might be.