Menu
Finance

French Investigator Examining FIA's Role In $4.4B Sale Of Formula 1

Financial corruption investigators in France "are examining the role played by the world governing body for motor sports" in the $4.4B sale of Formula 1, two people familiar with the inquiry said, according to Tariq Panja of the N.Y. TIMES. Investigators want to know if FIA, which is based in Paris, "had a conflict of interest when it agreed to clear the sale" of F1 to Liberty Media. Accounting for debt, Liberty’s takeover totaled more than $8B, "making it one of the biggest transactions in sports." FIA said in a statement, "We are entirely confident that any investigation would find that the F.I.A. has acted appropriately at all times, and we stand ready and willing to cooperate with any enquiries should any investigation be commenced or clarification sought by the appropriate authorities." Prosecutors from the Parquet National Financier, who have opened "multiple investigations into possible corruption in sports," are looking into the case after the Serious Fraud Office in Britain "started its own preliminary inquiry into the sale," according to people familiar with the case. Investigators' concerns "center on a deal known as the Concorde Agreement" that FIA signed in '13 in its role as the overseer of F1. The accord between racing teams and the owner of the series at the time "allowed the federation to benefit from an increase in annual payments for its role." FIA also received a one-time $5M payment and was allowed to buy a 1% share in F1 for "about 100 times less than its true value" (N.Y. TIMES, 10/18).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2017/10/19/Finance/France-F1.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Global/Issues/2017/10/19/Finance/France-F1.aspx

CLOSE