Sky and John Malone’s Liberty Global are weighing offers for a £4.5B ($7B) controlling stake in F1, "gatecrashing the plans of a Qatari-backed consortium to take control of the sport," according to Daniel Dunkley of the the SUNDAY TIMES. Last week it emerged that RSE Ventures, a company founded by NFL Miami Dolphins Owner Stephen Ross, had teamed up with Qatar Sports Investments, the owner of Ligue 1 side Paris St. Germain, "to work on a bid for the global motor-racing series." But insiders said that the RSE-Qatari team "is just one of several buyers in contact with CVC, the private equity firm that owns the F1 stake." Sources said that Sky and Liberty, which have "long coveted F1, have held informal discussions with CVC about a deal." Canadian fashion tycoon Lawrence Stroll, who helped to build the Tommy Hilfiger and Michael Kors brands, "has also been linked with a bid." CVC "has recruited Goldman Sachs to advise on its options." The RSE-Qatari bid "is expected to flush out rival offers in the coming months, with a bidding war expected." CVC owns a 35.5% stake in F1 "but controls the sport because its shares have special voting rights." The private equity firm first bought into the sport in '06, paying £1.2B "to take control from a group of shareholders," including F1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone and banks JP Morgan, Lehman Brothers and Bayerische Landesbank. It "is expected to make five times its original investment when it sells out." F1 "is viewed as one of the most valuable prizes in global broadcasting." Pay-TV companies "are paying ever-larger sums to secure live sports rights, in an attempt to prevent subscribers defecting to online rivals such as Netflix." Sky "views F1 as an integral part of its sports coverage." In Britain, "its dedicated F1 channel has taken on greater importance since BT loosened its grip on top-flight football coverage." Liberty, the cable conglomerate set up by the American billionaire Malone, "has a long-standing interest in buying F1." Last year "it teamed up with Discovery Communications, also controlled by Malone, to table a joint bid" (SUNDAY TIMES, 6/28). The AFP reported Grand Prix team chiefs "have warned that the sport is close to a crisis as grandstand seats remain increasingly unoccupied and television-viewing figures fall, with races increasingly dominated by a handful of drivers" (AFP, 6/28).
TIME TO GO: In London, Michael Gadd wrote as momentum for the possible sale built on Friday, former team Owner Eddie Jordan said that Ecclestone "should step down as CEO to pave the way for the sport's next generation." Jordan: "I think he's done a remarkable job, but time has played its role and he should go. We need to leave it for the next generation in a better state. He has to keep asking himself that and where the time frame is for him to leave. I think it's now" (DAILY MAIL, 6/28).
