Financial Notes: Russian Viktor Kharitonin Takes 99% Stake In Nurburgring

Pharmaceutical company Pharmstandard co-Founder Viktor Kharitonin has "upped his stake" in Formula One racing circuit the Nurburgring from 80% to 99%. Kharitonin said, "Today we have closed the deal." Forbes claimed the "value of the new transaction is some" $43M. It is believed Kharitonin paid $87M "in total for the circuit," with the minority shareholder GetSpeed keeping a "symbolic" 1% (AUTOWEEK, 4/26).

Shimano on Tuesday reported its "second consecutive quarterly year-over-year revenue decline in its bike segment," as it announced that net sales were down 20% in the first quarter of '16. The company's operating income "also was down" 30.7%. Its bike segment had "also reported a quarterly decline" of 2% in the final quarter of '15, compared to the same quarter of the prior year. Shimano's net sales in all segments in the first quarter were 82.2B yen ($737M), down from 98B yen "in the same period last year." Bike sales were down from 81.9B yen last year to 65.3B yen ($585M) this year (BICYCLE RETAILER, 4/26).