Wednesday March 6th, 2002

Deutsche Bank on Wednesday declared they will not be involved in a purchase of the 58.3 percent stake in Formula One's commercial rights held by debt-ridden media giants Kirch.

It is understood that the bank has been in discussions with a number of interested parties over the purchase of the shares, including the group of Formula One manufacturers which involves Fiat, DaimlerChrysler, Ford, Renault and BMW.

But an official spokesperson for Deutsche Bank revealed: "There have been vast discussions, but we have made no firm proposal to Kirch."

A source close to Deutsche Bank, who are already creditors to Kirch, revealed that not only have they not made a bid, they will never make a bid because they have little interest in Formula One.

There had been rumours that the bank would make a proposal to Kirch this week, but those have been exaggerated because Deutsche Bank has major media involvement in Germany.

Published at 16:41:35 GMT