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ECCLESTONE SETTLES WITH BANKS

The battle over commercial rights between Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone and three banks has been settled out of court.

The two sides agreed the settlement on Wednesday, according to reports, but no details were immediately available.

Three banks - Bayerische Landesbank, JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers - were seeking a greater say over the running of F1 operating companies such as Formula One Administration.

The banks own a majority stake in holding company, SLEC, which they inherited after the collapse of the major shareholder, German media group Kirch.

In December, a judge ruled against Ecclestone in a dispute over the make-up of Formula One Holdings, a subsidiary of SLEC, which runs the Grand Prix circuit.

It was ruled that Ecclestone had "no defence" to the banks’ claim that appointments of two directors were "invalid".