Bernie Ecclestone Sued Over Sale Of Formula 1 Stake; Lawsuit Reportedly Could Cause F1’s Credit Rating To Plummet

British business mogul Bernie Ecclestone has faced legal troubles in recent years originating from the sale of his stake in the world's most popular motorsport Formula One, or F1. Ecclestone is facing a lawsuit worth 345 million Euros after a German bank sued him and his family trust fund because of the sale of his equity holding in F1.

According to Bloomberg News, German state bank BayernLB has rejected Ecclestone settlement offer worth 25 million Euros in August, following the ruling of a Munich court to terminate a bribery case against the 84-year-old former car salesman and F1 team owner. The report said that Bayern LB claims that the purchase contract was terminated in 2005 under Ecclestone's conditions that were allegedly detrimental to the bank.

The current lawsuit is now fixated on Ecclestone 44 million dollars payment to Gerhard Gribkowsky, a former executive at BayernLB who is serving an eight-and-a-half jail sentence. Ecclestone has reportedly propelled a counter lawsuit filed in London's High Court.

Meanwhile, Forbes reports that Ecclestone's current lawsuit could make the F1's credit rating to plummet. The charges could mean huge inconvenience for F1's accounting report, which has $4.1 billion of arrears, approximately nine times more than its operating income.

Moody's Investor Service, the organisation that ranks the financial merit of a company based on institutionalized evaluations scale measuring anticipated investor loss in cases of default, has previously issued a warning about F1's future credit rating back in January. Moody's has already brought F1's credit rating down to B3, which Investopedia defines as the rating given when there is a high probability of default, in August partially due to Ecclestone's involvement in the motorsport organisation.

Forbes concludes that if Ecclestone wouldn't be able to guide F1 amidst the most recent legal battle, its credit rating could further plummet. As a result, F1 is projected to price their Initial Public Offering at lower appropriations and valuations.

As for Ecclestone, he is not taking things too seriously despite the legal hurdle that he is facing right now. Sky Sports reported that the F1 Supremo sent Reuters a hilarious Christmas card, wherein a masked man riding a horse is pointing a gun at him, who is holding a sack of $100 million. It was Ecclestone's humorous take after settling his bribery trial in Munich in August.

To reach the author of this article, email r.corpuz@ibtimes.com.au.