F1 Boss Bernie Ecclestone Sees New Opportunity For IPO Later This Year

F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone said that the sport's postponed flotation "could be re-launched later this year," according to Alan Baldwin of REUTERS. Ecclestone: "Last year I thought that the markets were not ready, but now it is getting more likely that there is an opportunity. In the next three months or so somebody will have to decide yes or no." The owners of F1 had been preparing a $3B IPO in Singapore last June but "decided to hold off as global markets tumbled and investor mood soured after Facebook's plunge in value following its flotation." Private equity firm CVC, the sport's "largest shareholder," has a stake of around 35.5%. Some 30% of the business is owned by investment groups Blackrock, Waddell & Reed, Norges Bank and the Texas Teachers' pension fund (REUTERS, 3/13).