F1 has generated the "biggest return from a single investment in the past 12 months" for investment firm CVC Capital Partners, according to Anne-Sylvaine Chassany of BLOOMBERG. CVC has "marked up the value of its stake to 4.7 times its initial investment." The leveraged buyout firm "has already reaped" €1.74B ($2.3B) from the holding after selling a minority stake and refinancing loans. CVC bought about 63% of F1 in '05 and '06 from its lenders "for an undisclosed amount," using about $2.5B of loans. In May and June, the private equity firm sold a $2.1B stake to Waddell & Reed Financial Inc., BlackRock Inc. and Norges Bank Investment Management in "deals valuing the auto-racing company" at $9.1B (BLOOMBERG, 9/19).
A PIECE OF THE PIE: SKY NEWS' Mark Kleinman reported that government-backed funds in Kuwait and Singapore "have acquired a stake in CVC Capital Partners, the buyout firm, which counts F1 motor racing and the owner of Madame Tussauds among its investments." Entities connected to the Kuwait Investment Authority and the Government Investment Corp. of Singapore and an unidentified Asian fund "have bought 10% of CVC's management company in a deal, which reinforces its status as one of the most influential private investors in the world." The transaction "was struck in June" and was outlined to investors in CVC's funds at the time. It was also discussed at the firm's annual conference in London last week. The new investors "gain a share of the profits made by the management company and get preferential access to investment opportunities." CVC has been "planning a flotation of F1 in Singapore although it was delayed earlier in the year because of the Eurozone crisis," and people close to the firm said that it is "not likely to be revived in the immediate future" (SKY NEWS, 9/19).
