London-based private equity group Bridgepoint is in talks with its investors to "shift its stake" in a company it has held for more than a decade from one fund to another, "bypassing a sale to rivals," according to Espinoza & Massoudi of the FINANCIAL TIMES. A transfer of Dorna, a Spanish sports management company that has the exclusive rights to promote and manage MotoGP and the Superbike World Championship, "is not guaranteed and talks are continuing," several people involved in the process said. Bridgepoint, which bought Dorna in '06 in a deal that valued the company at about €500M, declined to comment. It comes after Bridgepoint appointed bankers at Lazard late last year to "explore a potential sale," which led some of the largest private equity groups, including CVC, Eurazeo, Blackstone, General Atlantic and KKR, to "express interest in the asset." In some cases, these groups made indicative bids, which Bridgepoint used to set a price for a potential sale of Dorna from a fund it raised in '08 to the flagship fund it raised in '17, according to several people with direct knowledge of the talks. Investors in Bridgepoint's '08 fund will receive about three times their money "if the deal is completed," a source said (FT, 2/13).
