Motorsport
Investors CVC get controlling interest in Formula One
By John Bagratuni
Nov 25, 2005, 15:20 GMT

Hamburg - British investment company CVC Capital Partners on Friday acquired a controlling interest in Formula One motor-racing.

The deal, of which no figures were released, could end threats of a breakaway series by major carmakers in the sport.

'It could happen that an agreement will be reached through this step, but its too early to celebrate,' an F1 insider, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

CVC bought up shares of Bayerische Landesbank (BLB - 50 per cent of the total F1 shares) and of Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone (Bambino Holdings - 25 per cent) through a new company, Alpha Prema, a joint press release said.

Alpha Prema will be owned by CVC, Bambino through a re-investment, Ecclestone and an F1 management team.

The release said that Ecclestone will remain CEO in the Formula One Group - which is run by the SLEC holding - and make up the Alpha Prema board along with Donald Mackenzie (CVC), Gerhard Gribkowski (chairman of SLEC holding) and a Bambino representative.

The remaining 25 per cent of F1 shares are with two other banks, JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers.

CVC, a private equity company operating in Europe and Asia, have experience in motorsport.

They have been engaged in the motorcycling GP marketing rights company Dorna since 1998 and are a controlling shareholder of Britain's Automobile Association.

'They are knowledgeable about motorsport and make an ideal partner for Formula One,' said Ecclestone, who has run the sport for 25 years.

McKenzie said: 'CVC is committed to a flourishing and successful FIA Formula One World Championship, and will support every effort being made to maintain Formula One at the pinnacle of world motor sports,' said Donald Mckenzie from CVC.

'CVC has given its full support to the current discussions between Formula One, the teams and manufacturers to enable a successful extension of the current Concorde Agreement,' he added.

Earlier Friday, the Financial Times Deutschland (FTD) paper reported that five carmakers from the sport organised in the Grand Prix Manufacturers' Association had given F1 bosses and the ruling body FIA a December 31 deadline to meet their demands or face a rival series from 2008 onwards.

GPMA head Burkhard Goeschel, a board member at BMW and GPMA head, said that BMW, DaimlerChrysler (Mercedes), Renault, Honda and Toyota are determined to sign TV deals and race tracks for a new series.

'We as manufacturers have decided to take this route if a reform of Formula One is impossible. And then there is no way back. All that's missing is the final decision, the preparations are well underway,' Goeschel said.

The GPMA members demand a thorough reform once the current Concorde agreement expires after the 2007 season, calling for more transparency in the sport, more income and a bigger saying as well as more consistent rules and an independent court for the sport.

Four other teams - Ferrari, Red Bull racing, Midland (formerly Jordan) and Squadra Toro Rosso (formerly Minardi) - have already renewed the Concorde agreement beyond 2007. Williams are undecided.

Goeschel said that an F1 reform must also lead to a new management to end the Ecclestone's reign, a demand which may have been met through the CVC deal and the new management structures even though Ecclestone remains CEO.