F1 will pay a dividend of one billion dollars
The F1 remains a "cash machine" for its shareholders. Thus, CVC Capital and its partners have decided to raise one billion dollars linked to a loan refinancing, which will be used for the distribution of dividends to shareholders.
The program that would be implemented would involve delaying the maturity of a certain number of loans taken out by the Formula One Group, which were initially due to be repaid in 2013. The new maturity would now be 2017, the supposed deadline for the new Concorde Agreements currently under negotiation.
This means that the shareholders have decided to increase the debt of their investment since in February 2011, they had prepaid a large part of the debt contracted for the purchase of F1.
They are thus giving themselves the opportunity to wait another five years before making a decision about their investment. Indeed, CVC likely wants to wait for the succession of Bernie Ecclestone to become clearer, which will increase the value of the sport. This does not prevent the investment fund from launching a public offering, a project that should take at least two or three years before it materializes.
This once again shows that teams allow financiers to grant themselves the majority of F1’s liquidity without providing much added value to the operation of the sport. They could therefore be much more financially comfortable if they decided to unite permanently and jointly invest to buy back shares of the Formula One Group. However, as long as Ferrari collaborates so closely with the FOM, there is very little chance that such an agreement could come to fruition.
With the participation of RacingBusiness.fr
