Reports: F1 may be sold
Stephen Ross, owner of the NFL team Miami Dolphins, is reportedly considering a £5bn deal to take control of Formula One.
The 75-year-old property tycoon is said to be preparing a joint bid with Qatar Sports Investments – the Middle Eastern firm which owns French football club Paris St Germain.
Ross, founder of RSE Ventures, reportedly wants to buy 35.5% of CVC Capital Partners – the holding company that owns F1 – and any deal would also see the sport’s supremo Bernie Ecclestone sell his five per cent stake.
“My shares will be sold together with theirs,” Ecclestone told the Financial Times.
It is expected that Ecclestone, 84, would however remain involved in the running of the sport with the Financial Times reporting that such a proposal has already been discussed.
Ecclestone added that he was not “aware of a deal on the table”. RSE is yet to submit a formal offer.
Speaking at last week’s Austrian Grand Prix, the 84-year-old said: “There are three or four people talking to CVC but I don’t know how close things have got at this stage. If they decide to sell, they will have to tell me because I am a shareholder.
“CVC are in the business of buying and selling companies. The point is that they are very happy with F1. But their business is selling and everything has a price.”
CVC has been Formula One’s biggest stakeholder for the last decade.
