F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone "has handed over a bonanza payout to Formula One’s ruling body that could be worth as much as" £170M ($274M), according to Kevin Eason of the LONDON TIMES. Motorsports governing body FIA announced Friday that "it has finally approved the deal, known as the Concorde Agreement," with Ecclestone after months of delays.
Ecclestone "has promised a small fortune in payments" worth $200M over the eight years of the Concorde Agreement up until '20, "as well as a cash sweetener" worth more than £3M ($4.8M) simply to sign the deal.
There is also the offer of a 1% share stake in the F1 business, if and when "it is floated on the Singapore Stock Exchange." That alone could be worth $70M to the FIA at present estimates. It is a dream deal that F1 "has been sweating on and takes the sport closer to the finalising of the tripartite commercial contract." The "last piece of the jigsaw is expected to be in place by next week," because the Marussia team has "now been offered commercial terms in line with" the 10 others in the sport (LONDON TIMES, 9/28).
