HIG Capital aiming for Nürburgring acquisition

The deal is expected to be valued in the region of €60-70m; far less than the several hundred million euro sum put forward by Nürburgring trustee Jens Lieser. Lieser maintains that no buyout contract has been put in place as yet, but still hopes to complete the sale by the end of March.

HIG is said to be investing with the assistance of British investment banker Meyrick Cox and German entrepreneur Markus Graf von Oeynhausen-Sierstorpff, owner of the private Bilster Berg racetrack. The private equity firm has already established several shell companies in order to facilitate the buyout.

HIG held a final close for its second Europe-based fund in July 2013, raising €825m and exceeding its target of €760m in just three months.

Built in 1927, the 20km Nürburgring had its Formula One heyday in the 1950s to 1970s, and has not hosted a Grand Prix since Niki Lauda crashed there in 1976. The modern 5.1km track adjacent to the Nürburgring has hosted Formula One biannually since 1984.

The state of Rhineland-Pfalz invested more than €300m in the expansion of the Nürburgring and the addition of a leisure centre, but visitors did not materialise and the resort went bankrupt in 2012 after the European Commission prohibited any further grants from the state treasury. A buyer has been sought since 2013.

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