Bernie Ecclestone slams News Corp Formula 1 takeover rumour
According to some recent reports, it has been revealed that Rupert Murdoch’s global media company is reported to be in negotiations to takeover Formula 1.
However, the CEO of Formula 1 Management, Bernie Ecclestone, dismissed these rumours and declared this news as “rubbish” and since then, News Corp has refused to comment about this matter.
On the other hand, the media reported that News Corp is reported to have discussed this matter with the world’s richest man Carlos Slim, who is a Mexican billionaire as well, and it has been revealed that the company is holding some talks with at least one
of the teams of the sport as well.
"It is all rubbish. Formula One is not for sale. And, anyway, we would not sell to a media company because it would restrict the ability to negotiate with other broadcasters”, Ecclestone countered.
The sport was bought by Kirch Group when in Germany and by 2006, it was purchased by CVC (Capital Partners) for over $3 billion with the acquisition part, which was financed by the Royal Bank of Scotland and Lehman Brothers. It is believed that this debt
will be cleared by the year 2014.
“I should say for the sake of clarity that there is a good chance that News Corp's deliberations and talks with outside partners will not ultimately lead to a bid given the complexity of a deal and other competing claims on the media company's finances (likely
to include a renewed bid for the rest of BSkyB that it doesn't currently own)”, said Bernie.
However, he added that it is worth stating that Formula 1’s co owners, CVC, understand the current situation and as a result, they have decided to be “unaware” of News Corp’s potential interest and because of that, there has been no contact between the two
companies up until now despite these rumours.
Other than that, Bernie stated that there is a possibility that News Corp can decide not to acquire direct stake in the sport’s owner and instead attempt to buy rights to broadcast the sport through television platforms.
Tags: