As was widely expected, Louis Vuitton confirmed it will no longer sponsor the America's Cup.

Vuitton has been a main sponsor of the America's Cup since 1983, when the challengers' series became known as the Louis Vuitton Cup.

"The new America's Cup rules define a more commercial approach, and the signed protocol has already been questioned by some of those concerned. Indeed, there is a risk of a significant reduction in the number of participating teams," the company said in a statement Friday. "In these conditions, Louis Vuitton has decided not to lend its name to the next Challenger selection series."

America's Cup Management chief operating officer Michel Hodara called these claims an "exaggeration."

"It's unfortunate that Louis Vuitton could not appreciate the success won over from the 32nd America's Cup and its great gains in the public," Hodara told The Associated Press by telephone from Valencia. "Now, we will simply have to find a partner that shares the same values of the Cup and this sport. It changes nothing in terms of organizing the 33rd America's Cup."

Vuitton held out the possibility that it could return to the Cup "in another form."