NEW DELHI, Oct 5, 2007 (AFP) - Indian business tycoon Vijay Mallya officially sealed the deal Friday to buy a 50 percent stake in Dutch Formula One team Spyker.

Mallya and the De Mol family of the Netherlands had formed a consortium, Orange India Holdings, to buy the Spyker team for 88 million euros (124 million dollars approx) from Spyker in September.

The deal was officially sealed early Friday morning, making Mallya the first Indian to own a Formula One team.

"The deal was concluded this morning. Mallya is now officially the owner of Spyker team along with the De Mol family," Prakash Mirpuri, spokesperson for Mallya, told AFP.

"After signing of the official documentation, management of the Spyker Formula One Team has been handed over to the new owners: Orange India Holdings."

The Mallya-Mol consortium becomes the former Jordan team´s third owner in just three years. The Midland group took over in 2005, before selling the squad to Spyker late last year.

Mallya, who is expected to attend this weekend´s Chinese Grand Prix, has already stated his willingness to give the team an Indian flavour, though he has yet to confirm a name or driver line-up for 2008.

"We would love to have an Indian driver but it would depend on other issues. We have to arrive at a consensus for that," the liquor baron had said last month.

India´s first Formula One driver Narian Karthikeyan also recently revealed that he was in talks with Spyker for a seat next year.

There has been heightened interest in F1 racing in India since Karthikeyan hit the tracks for Jordan backed by major Indian sponsorship in 2005.

Also, India is all set to host an F1 race in 2009 following a deal between the Indian Olympic Association and Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone.