A High Court case between three banks and Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone over the sport's commercial rights has been settled before coming to court, both sides said yesterday.

No details were immediately available. The court case was due in May pitting Formula One Holdings, now controlled by the banks after legal action last year, against Ecclestone's Formula One Administration (FOA).

The banks, Bayerische Landesbank, JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers, own 75 per cent of Formula One holding company SLEC and want their stake translated into influence over Ecclestone's operating companies, like FOA.

FOA has three board members, one of them Ecclestone and another his lawyer Stephen Mullens. The banks acquired their stake as a result of the collapse of Germany's Kirch media empire.

The case is being closely watched by carmakers who are threatening to launch a rival series from 2008 if they do not get a greater share of Formula One's commercial income.

The commercial agreement covering the sport runs out at the end of 2007.

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