Rich Energy

[Richard C]

The battle for control continues...

https://twitter.com/rich_energy/stat...85021750464512

Whoever is in control of the Rich Energy twitter account (probably Storey) claims Storey is in charge, that the "palace coup" has failed and that he has the backing of all key shareholders. He also slags Red Bull and Whyte Bikes at the same time.

Will the real "Rich Energy" please stand up!

Just cancel the British GP and place a boxing ring on the start/finish line. Storey will take on all comers!

Richard

[Akrapovic]

This is the gift that keeps on giving.

[Bcarr6]

This is possibly becoming more entertaining than the F1 season itself.

[CaptRustyNail]

You think they would have deleted that tweet about terminating their agreement with HAAS but they haven't? Very odd. I suppose it is giving them publicity....

[Adam43]

The person who has access to the twitter account.

[Bcarr6]

I wonder if builders could learn anything from this whole thing. Storey could certainly share with them the best approach in digging a deeper and deeper hole.

[Akrapovic]

The car crash continues.

rich.PNG

[Adam43]

#tiresome #badperson #iwouldimaginetastelikecatwee

[Richard C]

This is actually "old" news (yesterday), but figured to fill in the gaps in the story, I might as well post it here...

https://www.motorsport.com/f1/news/w...-case/4493480/

Basically, Rich Energy didn't pay the £35K court fees as directed, so Whyte is looking to go back to the courts to get that money...

ATB will now be forced to take appropriate action to recover the costs that they have been awarded. This may include applications to the Court to wind up both Rich Energy and Staxoweb and to petition for the bankruptcy of Mr Storey.

So it looks like Storey is the majority owner. I am curious as to what recourse the minority shareholders have at this point. Is there a corporate malfeasance angle to be worked, or do they just have to sit back and ride this out?

In a recent tweet from Rich Energy...

Following a board meeting of Rich Energy Ltd chaired by CEO William Storey and in light of the treacherous conduct of minority stakeholders the exclusive rights to distribute @rich_energy have been transferred to another company. Mr Storey retains complete ownership #RichEnergy

I assume this was to remove control of distribution from an entity that Storey didn't control? Maybe part of the distribution chain was previously run by a minority shareholder?

Richard

[broadrun96]

Well F1 is at least having fun with it and dueling energy drinks

[chillibowl]

Rich at it again this morning.

https://twitter.com/rich_energy/stat...409007104?s=09

[ASCII Man]

For a company that has a net worth of -£1,3M they sure do talk a lot of trash.

[EastonNeston]

Rich energy have also tweeted a letter from the Haas teams legal representatives stating that Haas have given them 14 days to pay the outstanding sponsorship money, or Haas wil consider taking legal action to recover the funds, £35M, due to the team.


From the letter, it seems Rich Energy are in breach of contract, for not paying agreed fnds & for ending the contract before the first "break" date.


This could run for a long time.

[P38 in workshop]

Originally Posted by EastonNeston

Rich energy have also tweeted a letter from the Haas teams legal representatives stating that Haas have given them 14 days to pay the outstanding sponsorship money, or Haas wil consider taking legal action to recover the funds, £35M, due to the team.


From the letter, it seems Rich Energy are in breach of contract, for not paying agreed fnds & for ending the contract before the first "break" date.


This could run for a long time.

In my very limited experience with legal representatives it has always been the case that they lose interest quite quickly if it becomes apparent that there is insufficient money present to pay the bill.I have absolutely no doubt that Haas can afford good representation and will be seeking to safeguard their position.

[S griffin]

I can't blame Haas. They had that agreement in place, now it seems they are not stumping up the money. Amateur sponsors

[VIVA GT]

I seem to remember a number of people doubting the integrity of Rich Energy/ Mr Storey when the sponsorship was announced. It looks like they were right to do so!

[midgetman]

And there you have it. Always follow the money.

Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

[Anyopenroad]

Haas are absolutely at fault here. Their due diligence obviously wasn't nearly diligent enough. Or (and this is where I'd place my bet) concerns and questions were raised by the people charged with the checks, but they were ignored or over-ruled.

[billy bleach]

Originally Posted by Anyopenroad

Haas are absolutely at fault here. Their due diligence obviously wasn't nearly diligent enough. Or (and this is where I'd place my bet) concerns and questions were raised by the people charged with the checks, but they were ignored or over-ruled.

Interesting that Williams reportedly turned them down...

[S griffin]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

Interesting that Williams reportedly turned them down...

If even the cash strapped Williams turned them down, that says a lot

[peebee2]

Originally Posted by billy bleach

Interesting that Williams reportedly turned them down...

Don’t think so. They arranged a meeting to seal the deal, but Storey no-showed as he signed to Haas instead.

[Greem]

As I understand it, Rich Energy were touting their sponsorship to more than one team, and Haas asked the lowest. Still a significant amount as we know, but not quite as much as others.

IMO Williams dodged a bullet there.

[crossfades]

I am mostly into rallying and rallycross but I have gotten the impression that many energy drink companies are unreliable sponsors, with some drinks being short-lived projects without a future.

Might be off-topic but is it even possible to compete with the likes of Red Bull and Monster?

[crmalcolm]

Williams did not turn down Rich Energy. This is obvious when you read all three sides of how Rich Energy came to be the sponsor of Haas.

Firstly - Storey's account of the deal (I know he's not a reliable source):

'Storey says there were talks between the two parties, but they ultimately decided Haas provided a “much better” deal. “I felt sorry for Williams in the end,” said Storey. “I felt that as a business, they were living off past glories and didn’t run a very good business.”'

The Williams version:

'Williams was reportedly just a signature away from renaming itself Williams Rich Energy Racing, but the company ended up with a Haas title sponsorship instead, reportedly for as little as half of what Williams wanted.'

And finally the Haas version from Steiner:
'It was before Austin that we started to talk. We talked what we can do, what we will do and what they will do, and then it came together,'

So in summary:
Rich Energy wanted to buy Force India, but the company went into administration which prevented them getting the deal done.
Rich Energy then agreed a deal with Williams to be the title sponsor.
Rich Energy were also talking to Haas, and agreed to sponsor them for less than Williams were wanting.
Rich Energy revealed their sponsorship as part of being in F1 for a 'long, long time' and aiming to beat Red Bull.
Rich Energy then fall out with Haas, apparently not considering that if a team want half the amount of sponsorship of another mid-table (at best) team, then they are probably also a mid-table team

[broadrun96]

And the reports here in the US from F1 reporters is the letter is not accurate and no one has started proceedings to cancel anything at this time. Plus Rich Energy still owes Whyte legal fees and they are returning to court to force payment so Haas would be down the pecking order for payment.