out of court for NZD$20million without admission of liability. Their joint statement read: "While they consider the settlement amount does not properly reflect the lack of merit in the Commission’s proceedings, the settlement payment is only a little over half the amount claimed by the Commission, including interests and costs. It is less than 1/5 of the Commission’s maximum claim at the time it commenced proceedings. It is also at a proportionately lower level than the settlements the Commission reached with all the other defendants. Importantly, it is also reached without any admission of liability. The fact that the Commission was prepared to settle for substantially less than the full claim and without any admission of liability no doubt reflects the Commission’s recognition that it faced a risk of losing if the claim went to trial". America’s Cup and other sporting interests Sir Michael Fay and David Richwhite backed and led the first three New Zealand challenges for the coveted America's Cup sailing trophy in 1987, 1988, 1992. They personally invested over $100 million toward the cause. Following the 1988 "Big Boat" challenge they briefly won the cup, later losing it in the courts to the San Diego Yacht Club. New Zealand went on to win the trophy in 1995, a campaign in which Fay and Richwite were not involved. In 1988 the pair led a team to San Francisco for the World One Ton Cup which they won in Bruce Farr designed "Propaganda" (KZ 6161). Fay and Richwhite also funded the Manu Samoa Rugby Team for several years following the team running into financial difficulty. The ownership and control of the team has now been handed back to the Samoa Rugby Union. Philanthropy Richwhite has been active in his support for and participation in numerous not-for-profit, cultural and community initiatives, including: Being a benefactor of the "Play it Strange" Trust for which the David Richwhite Lyric Award was created Sponsoring a new high-performance rowing centre at University of Otago Founding and sponsoring the Fay Richwhite Corporate triathlon series in New Zealand and Australia Patronising New Zealand's exhibition at the Venice Biennale in 2009 Formerly acting as Chair of the Ellerslie Flower Show Gifting a KZ1 (yacht) to the Auckland Maritime Museum Donating to Women's Refuge, the Salvation Army, Starship Hospital and Westpac Rescue Helicopter. Great Mercury Island In 1978, Fay and Richwhite purchased Great Mercury Island, which lies eight