GAULOISES AND ALTADIS RESPOND TO YAMAHA’S PRESS RELEASE
As of today, Yamaha Motor Company has announced that “Altadis/Seita’s
sponsorship regarding Yamaha's Factory MotoGP Team will not
continue after the end of the 2005 season.” Yamaha’s
announcement comes while the two companies are still in the
midst of negotiating the terms of a settlement agreement that
would amicably resolve the dispute that arose between them
earlier this year. Altadis considers that Yamaha is still
bound by a legal obligation that prevents Yamaha from collaborating
with sponsors whose products compete directly with the Gauloises
brand or with Altadis products for the 2006 season.
Altadis laments that Yamaha, even while acknowledging that
“Altadis/Seita have been sponsors of the Yamaha Factory
MotoGP project for the past 3 seasons under both the Fortuna
and the Gauloises brands during which time the companies shared
2 world championship victories in the MotoGP class in 2004
and 2005,” appears poised to disregard the significance
of the Altadis investment in that project.
In the absence of a settlement, Altadis will not hesitate
to seek the appropriate legal remedies if Yamaha fails to
abide by its legal obligations towards Altadis and the Gauloises
brand.
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