Bahrain royals buy into McLaren.

A holding company owned by members of the Bahraini royal family is in the final stages of taking a significant stake in the McLaren Group, following discussions with existing shareholders including Ron Dennis and Mercedes.

The Bahrain Mumtalakat Holding Company, officially owned by the kingdom of Bahrain, has confirmed that it has entered into an agreement to acquire a 30 per cent stake in McLaren Group Limited, the company that oversees the Formula One team and McLaren's other projects. The agreement, with is currently under review by competition law experts, follows a period of negotiation with Group chairman and CEO Dennis and representatives of both Mercedes parent company DaimlerChrysler AG and long-term McLaren partner, the TAG Group.

McLaren, which previously had plans to supply the 'Team Dubai' F1 project, has confirmed that the necessary clearances for the deal to proceed are expected within the next weeks, when full details of the 'sale' will be revealed. Until then, the company would only disclose that the new shareholding structure will see DaimlerChrysler holding the biggest stake, at 40 per cent, with Mumtalakat Holding Company taking 30 per cent and Dennis and TAG holding 15 per cent each.

The company also confirmed that it would continue to be managed by its existing management team.