From Jayski:
Gillett, RPM partnering with Saudi Prince: In what could turn out to be one of the oddest pairings in the history of American stock car racing, Richard Petty Motorsports' primary shareholder George Gillett Tuesday signed an 'exclusive commercial collaboration' agreement for his stake in the team to Prince Faisal bin Fahd bin Abdullah al-Saud, a member of the Saudi Royal Family. The agreement signed Tuesday forms a partnership that will see the development of a NASCAR racing circuit and Richard Petty racing schools in the Saudi Kingdom and elsewhere in the Middle East. "The Middle East sport market has immense growth potential as eager fans in the region demand access to more diverse, higher caliber competition. I am delighted, enthusiastic, and honored to have the opportunity to partner with such a visionary in His Highness Prince Faisal," said Gillett after the signing. According to many however, the agreement signed Tuesday is the first step to Gillett selling his stake in the team. As the two were publicly confirming the agreement, behind the scenes, Gillett and Prince Faisal acting on behalf of the Saudi sports investment group F6 he chairs, have begun a process of 'due diligence', the examination of financial records, with the goal being that Gillett would be bought out by the end of the year. The primary deal in the works actually centers on British football club Liverpool that Gillett owns a 50% stake in, but the deal would also include Richard Petty Motorsports. The Prince was at Anfield Stadium in England on Saturday as a guest Gillett, who confirmed that he has secured funding from the Saudi prince for his NASCAR team and an agreement to build Liverpool-branded football academies in the Middle East. The entire deal is reportedly worth up to $560 million.

Interesting.....

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Read more closely. That statement from Jayski doesn't mention Yates at all. There was another rumor floated last week that the RPM/Yates deal was NOT a done deal. I'm wondering if that's falling apart now.
Yates racing will cease to exist if the deal closes. It's not a merger, there won't be a "Petty-yates racing" or any other title. It'll be RPM, running fords and buying engines from Roush-Yates engines.

It's rather unlikely that deal is falling apart- given that it takes months to close and finish these details, there's no reason to think the deal is falling apart until something real concrete comes out to suggest it.
yes and this deal is more about Gillett's other holdings then about NASCAR team. As they say "if you want to make a small fortune racing, start out with a big fortune"

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