BLOOMBERG NEWS’ Alex Duff noted F1 “may be forced to delay plans" for its second attempt at an IPO "after two teams entered bankruptcy protection.” CVC Capital Partners, which owns about 35.5% of F1, is working with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS on a "possible IPO" in Singapore in early ’15. Former F1 Teams Association General Secretary Oliver Weingarten said 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” (BLOOMBERG NEWS, 11/11).
FRENCH CONNECTIONS: SPORTSNET.ca’s Jeff Blair wrote a report in French-language newspaper La Presse “providing the names of businesses and individuals quietly funding a year-long study into the feasibility” of an MLB team in Montreal is interesting because it “puts some financial meat on the bones of a story that has gained momentum.” The report “makes clear that not all of the dozen or so businesses that have been operating during the study period under the aegis of the Montreal Chamber of Commerce are necessarily interested in owning a team” (SPORTSNET.ca, 11/11).
GROWTH CHART: In Boston, Christopher Gasper writes NFL playoff expansion “can’t come soon enough.” Speculation is the NFL is “going to expand the playoffs from 12 to 14 teams” in ‘15, adding additional wild card teams. Gasper: “Let’s stop rewarding mediocrity via geography with four-team divisions. That’s too much emphasis on beating out three teams in a 32-team league” (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/12).
