Money in the Bank

I'm not a gambling man, but I'm tempted to ask the people at CVC Capital Partners if they fancy a game of poker. Well not really of course, but I'm wondering just what they're up to. It's being reported that CVC are buying the shares in SLEC from Bernie Ecclestone and BayernLB, the bank that has the voting rights of the three banks involved in F1 management.

My question is simple. Why would you ever buy anything that Bernie wants to sell? Of course, it may turn out to be a great deal. But dumping around a billion dollars on the table in return for control of F1, in the same week that five major manufacturers announce their strategy for the sport, strikes me as "courageous". I know that Bernie is well past the traditional retirement date, but he's almost certain to stay on to run the show, so it's not just an exit strategy. My guess is that Bernie believes that the value of FOM has peaked, and that may just indicate a shifting of power into the hands of the GPMA. Or of course, that we're not being fed the whole story.

Either way, it's money in the bank for Bernie. No change there, then.