German Bank BayernLB Open To Deal To End Dispute With F1 CEO Ecclestone

German bank BayernLB on Thursday signaled it was "open to a compromise to end a legal fight" with F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone relating to his involvement in the '06 sale of its stake in the motor racing business, according to Andreas Kroener of REUTERS. BayernLB CEO Johannes-Joerg Riegler indicated a deal was "still possible after the lender rejected" a €25M ($33.2M) settlement offer earlier this month. Riegler: "If the overall package is right, we wouldn't be closed to it." Financial sources indicated that BayernLB had originally demanded up to $400M from Ecclestone. But during a court case against him over allegations he paid a $44M bribe to a former German banker to "facilitate the sale of BayernLB's stake, the public prosecutor and several witnesses said the bank had got a good price." Riegler said he was "unsure how BayernLB's dispute with Ecclestone would develop." Riegler: "It is still open whether it will come to a settlement or we will have to sue" (REUTERS, 8/21).