CVC exec acknowledges court case delay in F1 IPO

Amy King
20 November 2013

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

CVC co-founder Donald Mackenzie has acknowledged that the delay to the planned flotation of CVC's stake in Formula One can be attributed to the high court's ongoing legal battle with Bernie Ecclestone, according to the Financial Times.

Mackenzie is understood to have spoken to reporters after attending the ongoing high court case against Ecclestone. The GP will continue to pursue the flotation of the firm, though a listing is unlikely in the near future, he said.

The court case is investigating allegations put forward by Constantin Medien that F1 was knowingly undersold in 2006, when CVC purchased the asset for $1.7bn from BayernLB.

In June 2012, former BayernLB banker Gerhard Gribkowsky was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison following his trial for corruption, breach of trust and tax evasion, having admitted taking bribes amounting to $44m from F1 chief executive Ecclestone during the sale of the company to CVC.

CVC postponed the planned IPO on the Singapore Stock Exchange in June last year due to market volatility linked to lower than expected growth figures in China and India.

In May 2012, CVC sold a $1.6bn stake in Formula 1 Group to BlackRock, Waddell & Reed and Norges Bank Investment Management, reducing its stake from 63.4% to around 40%. The partial exit was believed to value Formula 1 at $9.1bn, including debt.

The transaction followed a refinancing in March that year, replacing debt worth $2.92bn with a new $2.27bn facility, extending maturities from 2013/14 to 2017/18.