Singapore increases its stake in CVC

The City-State is at the heart of F1 news with the holding of its annual event this weekend. The images broadcasted by televisions around the world will certainly not fail to display the advertising boards in the colors of UBS, the Swiss bank of which the Singapore government was a reference shareholder in 2010 with 6.40% of the capital.

The news, made public today by Sky, should not have a significant impact on the short-term future of F1 as the shareholder change within CVC Capital is not expected to lead to fundamental modifications for all the holdings owned by the American fund.

Nevertheless, this should favor the initial public offering project, which was precisely planned for… Singapore. The European crisis thwarted this project last June (at least until the end of the current season). Now that Singapore and its partners from Kuwait and another state fund hold 10% of the investment fund’s capital, they should be able to accelerate and facilitate the IPO process once the markets have stabilized.

Furthermore, this stake acquisition should have an impact on the financial contribution that the State pays to Bernie Ecclestone’s FOM. Indeed, the organizers made it known last July that they considered the hosting fee too high compared to the economic benefits for the country, and therefore continued negotiations with the F1’s chief financial officer, despite contrary statements from the latter: « Everything that was preventing the continuation of the Singapore Grand Prix for an additional five years has been resolved. I’m pleased to have reached this agreement because Singapore has been good for F1, and the night race has equally been beneficial for Singapore. »

When we see that South Korea, Belgium, and China have managed to obtain discounts, it would be very surprising if Singapore didn’t manage to do the same. When you are a shareholder of your service provider, negotiations become much easier…

With the participation of www.Racingbusiness.fr