Spyker agree sale

The sale will be to a group headed up by their F1 director Michiel Mol and Indian businessman Vijay Mallya, through their companies Strongwind Investment and Watson Ltd.

"With the sale of the Formula One Team now agreed in principle... Spyker Cars N.V. will return to the task of finalizing the internal strategic review and associated refinancing which has been ongoing since May," Spyker said.

Spyker's shareholders will vote on the sale at the end of September and are expected to accept the deal as a means of cutting their financial losses made in the past year.

That means that that Mallya, the controlling shareholder of the UB Group who own the Kingfisher beer and airline brands, should make his hope of turning the Silverstone-based team into an all-Indian team into a reality soon.

The sale will bring to an end Spyker's brief period in Formula One, which began a year ago when they bought the team from Midland, themselves having only owned the outfit for 20 months after a purchase from Eddie Jordan.