Three buyers interested in F1

When pressed upon when the potential new owner could take charge he replied: “this year”.

F1 chief executive Ecclestone confirmed he would sell his own five percent stake in the business as part of any deal, although he is likely to continue in his current role.

Ecclestone has a 5.3 per cent stake in F1, while CVC owns 35.5 per cent after initially gaining control of the sport in 2006 for around $2 billion. According to a report in the Guardian in July, this means a return on investment 351.8% and with its remaining 35% stake controls the voting rights of F1’s Jersey-based parent company, Delta Topco.

Bernie Ecclestone has announced he plans to sell Formula One by the end of 2015. Formula One could have new owners by the end of the year with three parties now interested, the sport’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Tuesday.

It emerged in June that a U.S.-Qatari consortium was interested in CVC’s holding, led by RSE Ventures, an investment firm run by Stephen Ross, the owner of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins.

“Our shareholders at the moment are in such a position at the moment where they have to lose a few of their shares, or all of them, shortly”, said Ecclestone.

The 84-year-old Ecclestone isn’t thinking about retirement and hinted that he could stay on as a member of the board by saying “the people that I’ve spoken to … have asked me if I would stay“.

Haven’t we heard previous tales of Red Bull looking to buy F1?

And is it coincidence that CVC might be looking to sell just as the European Union looks to investigate the sport?