BMW Oracle Racing Signs JP Morgan To Deal On Eve Of America's Cup

By Jon Show, Staff Writer, SportsBusiness Journal

BMW Oracle Racing Inks JP Morgan As Its Official Bank Ahead Of America's Cup

BMW Oracle Racing has signed JP Morgan as its official private bank just days ahead of the start of the 33rd America’s Cup. The one-race deal was negotiated with JP Morgan’s European marketing group and includes signage at the team’s San Diego headquarters and logo rights. It does not include branding on the boat. An announcement is expected later this week. The U.S. team, which begins racing on Monday in Valencia, has also signed official supplier deals for the first time with 3M and Catch the Wind, each of which are providing racing technology for the sailboat. Other official supplier deals include Inmarsat (satellite services), Slam (apparel), NetSuite (software) and ABC Tools. BMW Oracle Racing Commercial Dir Scott Hollingsworth said the deals offered a low-to-mid seven figures worth of cash and value-in-kind. The 33rd America’s Cup will be contested between Swiss team Alinghi and challengers BMW Oracle Racing, which have been in various legal battles since Alinghi won the 32nd race in '07. A New York court last Friday cleared the way for the start of the best-of-three race on Monday when it said it would not hear a complaint over the construction of Alinghi’s sails.