In December 2009, the team suffered an early setback when it was discovered that sponsorship deal was invalid. An eighty million pound sponsorship arrangement that had been signed by Brawn with the German company Henkel was invalid. Henkel claimed they were unaware of the deal and were not interested in Formula One. They said the deal was made by a former Henkel employee on stolen company stationery to defrauding the company. On December 22, Henkel announced that the dispute with the Mercedes had been resolved with a mutual agreement and that legal action would not be pursued. Henkel plans to work with the German Prosecutor's Office to clarify the matter.