Ernesto Bertarelli, the richest man in Switzerland, may have a lot more time for sailing.
Bertarelli's camp says Ellison is trying to preserve the one advantage he holds: an unlimited wallet.
Or even Ernesto Bertarelli, the biotech whiz, on the back of his winning the America's Cup sail?
Bertarelli is the only Swiss billionaire to make the list of the top 14 richest people in Davos.
Since taking over drug firm Seronoin 1996 from his father, Bertarelli has built it into Europe's biggest biotech.
But Bertarelli's interests in the family business seemed to be dimming after his long tenure at its helm.
Ellison wanted a rematch but instead Bertarelli picked a weak Spanish club as its next challenger prompting Ellison to sue.
The current legal jousting began soon after Bertarelli's Alinghi syndicate won the Cup for the second time, in July 2007.
Bertarelli and Ellison also agreed to liberalize the rules to make it easier for challengers to get into the game.
Bertarelli seems relieved and frankly happy to move on and has four areas where he plans to spend his time.
It was Mr Bertarelli's father, Fabio, who saw the future in high-tech production, and pushed the firm towards molecular biology.
Bertarelli's defending Alinghi syndicate went on to beat Emirates Team New Zealand in a closely fought match off Valencia, Spain, in July.
Along with fellow Swiss billionaire, Ernesto Bertarelli, he is planning to launch Wyss Institute in the former Merck Serno offices in Geneva.
Ellison and Bertarelli, the heir to a Swiss biochemical fortune, had been quarreling in court long before their yachts faced off in open waters.
Bertarelli's post-victory maneuvers have cast a cloud of ill will over the event, which this year offered the most exciting and closely fought races ever.
All this reduces the advantage Ellison and Bertarelli have over the challengers, but the billionaires want to encourage their friends to come out and play.
Bertarelli emphasized that the deal would be good for both companies.
Neither company is rolling over now: Before Tysabri was even approved, Serono chief Ernesto Bertarelli made the rounds to poke holes in the drug's hype.
Earlier this year billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli pulled off the remarkable: He won the America's Cup on his first try, with a team based in landlocked Switzerland.
Bertarelli, the heir to a Swiss biochemicals fortune, accuses Ellison of using high-priced lawyers to pursue a challenge he can't seem to win on the water.
Many praise Mr Bertarelli's management: for all his extravagant toys, he has proved, since taking over in 1996, a sensible and energetic successor to his father.
Bertarelli assigned Bonnefous to study a complete overhaul of the America's Cup last year--long before anybody knew Team Alinghi (the name is meaningless) would emerge as the winner.
Since taking over drug firm Serono (nyse: SRA - news - people )in 1996 from his father, Bertarelli has built it into Europe's biggest biotech.
His BMW Oracle team, which he founded a decade ago, beat rival billionaire Ernesto Bertarelli and his Alinghi team, by a margin of 5 minutes and 25 seconds.
"There have been enough changes to produce massive, positive results, " says Russell Coutts, the New Zealand skipper whom Bertarelli recruited to win the last America's Cup for his Team Alinghi.
In an industry filled with tin-eared salespeople and guys in labcoats, Bertarelli was a dashing figure, complete with a beautiful blonde British wife, Kristy, and an obsession with sailboat racing.
Most important, all the details, from television contracts to license fees for America's Cup logo T shirts, will be handled by AC Management, a company Bertarelli formed to manage the Cup.
If Ellison wins, he can force Bertarelli into a match against his DoGZilla, which has an anticipated top speed of more than 40mph, compared with about 20mph for single-hulled Cup boats.
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