04/07/2006
NEWS STORY
Further to our previous report, CVC looks set to rake in as much £345m, when it sells its majority share in Dorna, rights-holder to MotoGP.
It was the European Commission that forced CVC to sell its stakeholding in Dorna in order to avoid competition concerns after it bought a majority stake in Formula One at the end of 2005.
CVC acquired Dorna in 1998 for around £55m, with the bulk of the payment thought to be funded through debt, meaning that CVC actually invested around £12.5m, which gave it a 75 percent stake.
According to reliable sources, Dorna's earnings (before costs) were around £9.5m, rising to £24m in 2004, based on a turnover of £70m.
Furthermore, it's understood that the company's strong cashflow has enabled it to recapitalise several times, paying over £100m into CVC's coffers, a return of over 800 percent.
In comparison, CVC's staske in (British betting company) William Hill had returned 314 percent by the time it was floated in 2002.
CVC is clearly not in Formula One for altruistic reasons, and will probably be looking - based on the MotoGP figures - of a return of between 200 - 800 percent.
Therefore it remains to be seen if, or rather when, it will attempt to float F1. This of course could be preceded with a mini-bond secured on Formula One's revenues as it (hopefully) improves.
We hear that there is close to $1bn in the coffers of FOA, much of it belonging to CVC, which is the majority owner. Much of this would need to be left in place in order to make a float, or even a sale, more attractive.