Williams secures future by going public
Pastor Maldonado in the Williams pits ... the decision to sign him has helped Williams' finances © Sutton Images
Williams is pressing ahead with the floatation of over a quarter of the team on the Frankfurt stock exchange, offering 27.39% of the company for sale on March 2.
Williams announced last month it was considering floating in a bid to secure its independent ownership future. Although over a quarter of the company will be sold, founder Frank Williams, who currently owns 63% of the shares, will retain a majority and controlling stake.
The floatation comes after several months of financial turmoil with a number of high-paying sponsors having left. It will include private placing of shares with institutional investors and a public offer in certain countries including Germany, Switzerland, Austria and the UK.
Nevertheless, Williams insists its accounts are healthy and its racing budget for 2011 has already been secured. That was helped by the decision to jettison the highly-rated Nico Hulkenberg in favour of Venezuelan rookie Pastor Maldonado who brings with him a multi-year, multi-million pound sponsorship deal with his country's state oil company, PDVSA.
Credit: ESPN F1 (espn.com)
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