The struggling Manor Formula One team is on the verge of a takeover after its owner said on Friday that terms have been agreed with a new investor.

Speaking at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, the British businessman Stephen Fitzpatrick said the team have been in discussions with several investors over the past six months. “We have agreed terms with an investor at the moment and we are still working through that,” said Fitzpatrick, who rescued the team from administration in time for the 2015 season. “I can’t really talk more about the specifics.”

Fitzpatrick is now prepared to take a back seat as long as it makes the team stronger.

“One of the things I was quite clear on, right from the start, was that in the current F1, money equals performance,” he said. “So anything that was going to bring more funding to the team and help the team develop I was very open to ... [even] if that meant bringing in another investor, and even a majority investor.”

Manor have scored one point this season, putting them in 11th and last place in the constructors’ standings before Sunday’s season-ending race.

Manor are still aiming for 10th place and are one point behind Sauber, who currently hold that position. The difference between 10th and 11th is several millions in terms of television rights and revenue distribution.

Losing out on 10th spot would not affect the impending takeover, however. “It doesn’t help financially, but the terms of our agreement have been refinalised, let’s say,” Fitzpatrick said. “[It’s] not a deal breaker.”

The highly rated German driver Pascal Wehrlein secured Manor’s point after finishing 10th at the Austrian Grand Prix in July. The team’s other driver, the 20-year-old Frenchman Esteban Ocon, is joining Force India next season.

Werhlein, meanwhile, is tipped to replace the Brazilian Felipe Nasr at Sauber, a move made potentially more likely with the news that Nasr has lost his banking sponsor Banco do Brasil.