Formula 1 "may be forced to delay
plans" for an initial public offering a second time after two
teams sought protection from creditors, according to Alex Duff of BLOOMBERG. The collapse of Marussia, which said on Nov. 7 that it fired 200 workers, and a struggle by Caterham to make the Nov. 21 season-ending race in Abu Dhabi could "disrupt the timing of an IPO, according to Oliver Weingarten, former general secretary of the Formula One Teams Association." Weingarten, now the CEO of London-based sports agency OW Advisory Ltd., said that F1 majority shareholder CVC will probably "want the negativity surrounding the
sport to go away, and for there to be some stability, before
they go to the market." CVC, which owns about 35.5% of F1, is working with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS AG on a "possible initial public offering of the series in Singapore" in early '15. CVC shelved a '12 IPO plan, citing market conditions, and "revived them" after F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone settled a German corruption case with a $100M payment in August. Ecclestone and CVC spokesperson James Olley did not "immediately return calls seeking comment" (BLOOMBERG, 11/11).
