Bernie Ecclestone, the commercial owner of Formula One is ready to sell the entire 35% controlling stake in the racing series which is owned by holding company CVC Capitol Partners. British news house, The Sun, reportedly hinted at a potential $8.5 billion dollars as the asking price for the deal.
Formula One for sale
Formula One is currently going through one of its all-time lows in terms of the sport being exciting enough for fans and people. Drivers are not happy with the rules, the teams are complaining about the regulations and the format of the sports are being changed every year adding to the rising cost of the sport. The latest debacle to have added to the list, is the poor qualifying format which saw spectators leave the stands at Australia even before the session was over.
CVC had paid around $1.7 billion in 2007 to take over the series and has since then sold off half of its original stake leaving with 35.5 percent. Ecclestone own a small part of the racing series and almost entire interest of CVC. He said that, “I think CVC will make a decision on the sale sooner or later. There are people who want to buy. Actually, two of the people have agreed the price. It is just a question of whether CVC wants to sell or not”.
If this sale takes place and CVC sells its entire stake in the sport, the 85-year old Ecclestone’s role in the sport would virtually come to an end. He has run the sport for over 40 years and has been associated with it even longer. It is unclear what role he would take up or would be rather retire and take his mind off F1 completely.
Tags: Bernie Ecclestone, CVC, F1, Formula One, Motorsport, Motorsports, Sale
