On July 28, the company announced the team's withdrawal from Formula One at the end of 2009. BMW Chairman Dr. Norbert Reithofer described the decision as a strategic one. On 15 September 2009 BMW Sauber announced they had a buyer for the team, Qadbak Investments Limited. Qadbak turned to be a shell company (a company without any real assets or operations), and the deal fell apart.