Formula 1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone said Tuesday that the motorsport series "could be sold this year and there are three interested buyers," according to Rob Harris of the AP. Ecclestone did not identify the potential new owners but said that he "wants to remain in his current role, running F1 on a day-to-day basis." F1's "largest and controlling shareholder" is currently investment fund CVC Capital Partners, whose co-chair is Donald Mackenzie. When asked about the prospect of F1 being sold this year, Ecclestone said, "I think so, maybe this year. There are three people mentioned to buy. So it's a case of whether CVC or Mr. Mackenzie wants to sell." Ecclestone earlier this year "raised the prospect of buying back F1 himself." When asked if he was one of the three interested parties, Ecclestone said, "We'll see." Ecclestone said that he is "very happy with the shareholders at the moment" and has no plans to retire. Ecclestone: "The people that I've spoken to, the people who are interested in buying the shares, have asked me if I would stay." He added that his answer was "yes" (AP, 10/6). In London, Kevin Eason wrote Formula 1 is "inching towards new owners," according to Ecclestone. It is an "open secret" that CVC is tired of the "swirl of poor publicity that surrounds F1" and now the threat of a European Union competition commission investigation adds a "new layer of complexity" that the private equity fund hopes to avoid. Even though the sport has been through turbulent times, "potential investors are attracted by F1's global reach and its ability to churn profits." CVC "are thought to have netted" as much as £4B ($6B) since buying the sport in '06 for just £1B. No formal bids "are thought to have been tabled" (LONDON TIMES, 10/6).
