F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone revealed that the sale price for Formula 1 has been "agreed," and that it is now only up to current owners CVC to decide if it wants to sell, according to Jonathan Noble of MOTORSPORT.com.
Speculation that CVC, which holds a 35% stake in the sport, "is poised to finally off-load its share of grand prix racing has been rife for several months."
But despite rumors of interested parties from America or China buying CVC out, there "has not yet been any public developments."
Ecclestone suggested that "talks may well be more advanced than some suspect." He said,
"I think CVC will make a decision on the sale sooner or later. There are people who want to buy. Actually, two of the people have agreed the price. It's just a question of whether CVC wants to sell or not" (MOTORSPORT.com, 3/28). In London, Daniel Johnson wrote this month "marks 10 years since CVC bought the sport in what is thought to be the most lucrative private equity deal in history."
It "is a deal which has extended years beyond its original design after a failed Initial Public Offering of stock in Singapore." It "has seen them dragged into the courts of London and Munich over allegations -- denied by Ecclestone and of which he has never been found guilty -- that he steered the ownership in CVC’s direction by bribing a German banker, and has arguably stifled the sport thanks to a complex system of contracts drawn up in the rush for that aborted flotation."
Yet despite all the controversy, CVC Capital Partners Chair Donald Mackenzie and CVC "made it to the 10th anniversary." In '06 they paid around $1.7B "for a majority stake." Some estimates suggest they "have since made" between £2.8B-£3.5B. In '14, turnover was around £1.1B, with £630M going to the teams. Once costs are paid -- the teams and race promoters pay most of these -- "CVC pockets the rest." Although Ecclestone remains broadly supportive of CVC while it suits his end, "he has expressed some misgivings." He said, "I probably can’t take as many risks as I would like to. I have been running things with my hands tied behind my back a bit. They’re very good and allow me a lot of freedom, but having said that, because we were going to float the company, we’ve had to run the business a bit more like a public company, which is not how I would do it if I owned the company still" (TELEGRAPH, 3/26).
LAS VEGAS RACE: SKY SPORTS reported Ecclestone said that F1 "agreed a deal to race in Las Vegas."
Although the F1 supremo said that "he cannot foresee this year's 21-race calendar expanding, Ecclestone has warned that the Italian GP could be dropped -- with Vegas apparently positioned to replace Monza on the calendar." Ecclestone: "Monza has got a contract for this year so it is going to go ahead. Next year is the question mark. I don't think we have to have an Italian Grand Prix. Somebody once told me a funny thing that you couldn't have Formula 1 without a race in France but we do." He added that organizers of a proposed Grand Prix in Las Vegas have a contract and "Vegas would be super."
America "currently stages a single race, the US GP, after plans for an event in New Jersey were dropped" (SKY SPORTS, 3/28).
