Ecclestone may buy back F1
Tuesday 12th July 2011
Bernie Ecclestone has suggested that he would be willing to once again take on the ownership of Formula One's commercial rights.
The 80-year-old owned the sport prior to 2005, when he sold out to CVC for US$1.7billion. Ecclestone now controls the rights on behalf of the private equity firm, for example negotiating contracts with circuits and television companies.
It is estimated that F1 is now potentially worth around five times that figure, yet Ecclestone would appear to be interested in taking outright control once again.
Asked if he would be interested in buying back F1, Ecclestone was unequivocal in his response as he said: "Yes, absolutely."
There are other interested parties, though, with rumours still persisting that Rupert Murdoch's News Corp might launch a bid in conjunction with one of Europe's leading investment firms EXOR.
However, Ecclestone maintains that no conversation has ever taken place with them with regard to any potential buy-out.
Like that consortium, however, any purchase on his part would have to be at the right price, unsurprising given his reputation as a tough negotiator.
"I wouldn't buy at the price that I think CVC would sell it," Ecclestone told the International Herald Tribune.
"But I would certainly buy at the price they (News Corp and Exor) want to pay."
Even if Ecclestone does not take the reins once again, he maintains he does definitely care as to whose hands it might fall into.
"I care that people that own the company want to own it and run it in the correct manner," added Ecclestone.
Despite the fact News Corp/EXOR have yet to show their hand, there are stumbling blocks to the deal with both companies.
"A little bit of a problem with Murdoch because they are more or less on pay-TV," said Ecclestone.
"And we have to be, according to the European Union, on free-to-air television. Our agreement with them was that we are everywhere on free-to-air television.
"And the other people own Fiat, and the teams don't seem that excited about another team having big control over the regulations, or whatever. So there is a bit of a conflict there," he added, in reference to Fiat's ownership of Ferrari.
There have also been suggestions that speculation regarding a takeover is a ploy to ramp up negotiations of the new Concorde Agreement, the protocol that binds together the teams, the FIA and the commercial rights holder.
The latest Concorde Agreement is due to come into force in 2013, yet Ecclestone said: "It certainly won't make any difference.
"The bottom line is simple. If there is no Concorde Agreement it doesn't make that much difference.
"All the Concorde Agreement is really us telling the people what we are going to pay them.
"If there was no Concorde Agreement, same thing, we would run the championship and we would pay the people probably a lot less than they get now."
Credit: ESPN STAR (www.espnstar.com)
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