Taupo Motorsport Park directors are confident a sale of the park to Tony Quinn will benefit the motorsport community and the local region.
However, any sale will still have to meet a prerequisite shareholder vote.
Quinn’s latest bid for the purchase of Taupo Motorsport Park is $9.8 million.
The figure is an 18 per cent increase on his first offer, which failed to meet the required number of shareholder votes.
In the first statement to shareholders advising of Quinn’s second bid, Taupo Motorsport Park directors said they “unanimously recommend that TMP shareholders vote in favour…to approve the sale.”
Why TMP directors want to push ahead with the Quinn takeover came to light yesterday.
A four-page statement issued to shareholders dissects the benefits of having Quinn take command of the park’s operations.
A successful sale will pay shareholders $1.20 per share. Quinn’s previous offer paid out $1.01 per share.
“TMP directors believe the revised offer is in the best interests of TMP shareholders,” the statement read.
“TMP directors have formed this view having spent 18 months considering approaches, discussions, and negotiations with various entities regarding the sale of the business.”
Quinn told shareholders he “believes Taupo Motorsport Park can have a bright future.”
However, that “requires significant investment and some changes in strategy.”
A significant “change in strategy” Quinn proposed is to do away with the park’s traditional motorsport-only model.
Quinn says the current model is unsustainable. He wants to see changes to the park’s operations to “drive [its] commercial and community success.”
This includes constructing a new go-kart track to rocket tourist numbers, a GT Members club for frequent users of the circuit, and the promotion of two marquee motorsport events.
These factors are currently implemented at Quinn’s other two New Zealand circuits: Highlands in Cromwell and Hampton Downs in the Waikato.
“This model has continued to serve our parks well,” Quinn said.
Quinn is also a supporter of nurturing young Kiwi drivers.
He recently launched the Tony Quinn Foundation, which has helped dish out over $200,000 worth of scholarships to budding drivers this year.
As part of a takeover of TMP, the circuit will become a central component of the Foundation’s future activities.