How F1 makes its money.
Discussion
This *may* be a repost, considering how many F1 fanatics there are on here, but it only came out yesterday, so there is a small chance it has not been posted.
Exclusive: How Formula 1 made $6.5 billion profit for its new owner
Exclusive: How Formula 1 made $6.5 billion profit for its new owner
londonlovesbusiness said:
But research by LondonlovesBusiness.com shows the astonishing returns made by F1’s owners. We can show that the private equity house, CVC, which bought into F1 in 2006, has made billions. The other winner – naturally! – is the king of F1 himself, Bernie Ecclestone.
Here’s is the inside story on how the sport is run, and how a private equity firm (and a trawlerman’s son from Ipswich) racked up mind-boggling profits...
Here’s is the inside story on how the sport is run, and how a private equity firm (and a trawlerman’s son from Ipswich) racked up mind-boggling profits...
llb said:
..The $965.6m loan repayment along with the proceeds from the share sales have already generated $3bn for CVC giving it a return of approximately 317%. The April dividend took CVC’s return to 362% and its remaining 35.5% stake in F1 has a value of around $2.6bn. This gives CVC a total of $6.1bn of cash out and remaining value yielding a return of around 630%. [My emphasis.]
http://www.londonlovesbusiness.com/business-news/business/exclusive-how-formula-1-made-65-billion-profit-for-its-new-owner/4055.articleEdited by Tonsko on Wednesday 28th November 14:26
ks then? I understand very little of financial maneuvering.Provided that he does not get "banged-up", it looks as though BE could payout his lawsuits and still be left with a very comfortable sum.
It is poor journalism to refer to him as a trawler-man's son, or even Essex car dealer. His personal achievement from F1 is truely incredible for any one person.
It is poor journalism to refer to him as a trawler-man's son, or even Essex car dealer. His personal achievement from F1 is truely incredible for any one person.
bernie bought the F1 commercial rights for a zillion years from his friend max. he was kind enough to charge him about 2 p.
bernie sold the rights to some guys for loads of money.
they went bankrupt.
CVC bought the rights for not a lot but more than bernie paid.
now they've sold shares of their rights and repaid their initial loan.
result: f1 is owned by bankers so we get races in abu dhabi but spa is continually under threat.
who's fault is it? The FIA's/Mosley's
bernie sold the rights to some guys for loads of money.
they went bankrupt.
CVC bought the rights for not a lot but more than bernie paid.
now they've sold shares of their rights and repaid their initial loan.
result: f1 is owned by bankers so we get races in abu dhabi but spa is continually under threat.
who's fault is it? The FIA's/Mosley's
The people who bought it from Bernie. He has simply just been an opportunist who has chosen to play with people he knew he could beat. Like most successful business folk.
A lot of people have made a lot of money of Bernie whilst Bernie risked a lot. The sport was there for the teams to run and they didn't.
A lot of people have made a lot of money of Bernie whilst Bernie risked a lot. The sport was there for the teams to run and they didn't.
rdjohn said:
Provided that he does not get "banged-up", it looks as though BE could payout his lawsuits and still be left with a very comfortable sum.
It is poor journalism to refer to him as a trawler-man's son, or even Essex car dealer. His personal achievement from F1 is truely incredible for any one person.
So what is so good about F1 now since Ecclestone obtained the brodcasting rights?It is poor journalism to refer to him as a trawler-man's son, or even Essex car dealer. His personal achievement from F1 is truely incredible for any one person.
If you look at any other mainstream sport, and F1 was mainstream before Ecclestone, the TV presentation has improved no end. I can see no argument that F1's television presentation would not improved equally.
What else can Ecclestone be praised for? 'Professionalism' often come up and, oddly, he can take some credit for this, but from when he was i/c Brabham and not the TV rights. However, the main people who pushed professionalism into F1 were Wailliams/Head and Dennis. Every other team, including Ferrari, played catch-up for years.
Oh, and there is always the push into sandy places or those locations where they eat a lot of rice. I'm not sure this is a good thing or not and certainly few would suggest it is an incredible achievement.
So was has sainted Ecclestone done apart from, incredibly, milking the sport of $billions it would appear?
The phrase that comes to my mind is carpet-bagger.
Derek Smith said:
So what is so good about F1 now since Ecclestone obtained the brodcasting rights?
If you look at any other mainstream sport, and F1 was mainstream before Ecclestone, the TV presentation has improved no end. I can see no argument that F1's television presentation would not improved equally.
What else can Ecclestone be praised for? 'Professionalism' often come up and, oddly, he can take some credit for this, but from when he was i/c Brabham and not the TV rights. However, the main people who pushed professionalism into F1 were Wailliams/Head and Dennis. Every other team, including Ferrari, played catch-up for years.
Oh, and there is always the push into sandy places or those locations where they eat a lot of rice. I'm not sure this is a good thing or not and certainly few would suggest it is an incredible achievement.
So was has sainted Ecclestone done apart from, incredibly, milking the sport of $billions it would appear?
The phrase that comes to my mind is carpet-bagger.
Don't all forms of motorsport have someone at the commercial head of them though, like Alan Gow for the BTCC package, and Stefan Rattel for GT1 World. Also didnt Dave Richards take on WRC (could be wrong on that though)?If you look at any other mainstream sport, and F1 was mainstream before Ecclestone, the TV presentation has improved no end. I can see no argument that F1's television presentation would not improved equally.
What else can Ecclestone be praised for? 'Professionalism' often come up and, oddly, he can take some credit for this, but from when he was i/c Brabham and not the TV rights. However, the main people who pushed professionalism into F1 were Wailliams/Head and Dennis. Every other team, including Ferrari, played catch-up for years.
Oh, and there is always the push into sandy places or those locations where they eat a lot of rice. I'm not sure this is a good thing or not and certainly few would suggest it is an incredible achievement.
So was has sainted Ecclestone done apart from, incredibly, milking the sport of $billions it would appear?
The phrase that comes to my mind is carpet-bagger.
Most of these have grown and suffered due to F1's success at setting the standard.
Eric Mc said:
The old "jealousy" jibe.
Just because someone made themselves rich doesn't automatically mean they have to be admired.
Its one that fits, and usually well describes the relevant detractor.Spite and envy are very much the domain of losers, others too, but losers do make a meal of it. Just because someone made themselves rich doesn't automatically mean they have to be admired.
Nobody is forced to follow F1, don't like it clear off to footie ,always plenty of harping slack jawed knuckle draggers who always know how to do things better than those actually doing it, in that game.
Fact is, don't like Bernie (or others who dare to be successfull) then become a self made billionaire oneself, and usurp them. There, easy, eh?
Cheese Mechanic said:
Derek Smith said:
The phrase that comes to my mind is carpet-bagger.
Thats how most losers view successfull business men. Gaz. said:
The same old stuff as usual Derek.
F1 dominates all forms of the media, most of the drivers & teams are household names to any petrol head and a good few are household names in absolute terms too - how many other motorsport series, including the domestic touring car championships can say that? Every Sunday night the back pages are full of F1, even on a non race weekend more will be written about F1 in the popular media than WEC which may have had a race on the same weekend.
Jenson Button receives more airtime for his triathlons than Dario Franchitti did for winning the Indy 500. Paul Di Resta, who is the human equivalent of beige had more coverage regarding his Friday test driver role than his cousin did for winning the Indycar championship for the third time.
I still don't get your dislike for visiting places where they eat rice instead of potatoes and have sand instead of mud.
Household names? Most people have heard of three or four teams but beyond that it comes all over grey. I’m of an age when I can remember everyone talking about the race at work. Clark, Stewart, Hunt and Mansell were household names as well you know, and all that was before Ecclestone dropped his magic pixie dust over the sport and made it somehow better than it had ever been.F1 dominates all forms of the media, most of the drivers & teams are household names to any petrol head and a good few are household names in absolute terms too - how many other motorsport series, including the domestic touring car championships can say that? Every Sunday night the back pages are full of F1, even on a non race weekend more will be written about F1 in the popular media than WEC which may have had a race on the same weekend.
Jenson Button receives more airtime for his triathlons than Dario Franchitti did for winning the Indy 500. Paul Di Resta, who is the human equivalent of beige had more coverage regarding his Friday test driver role than his cousin did for winning the Indycar championship for the third time.
I still don't get your dislike for visiting places where they eat rice instead of potatoes and have sand instead of mud.
I have no aversion to visiting places that are sandy or where they eat rice. I just don’t want F1 to be sold to the highest bidder.
On another point, I remember when everyone knew the names of WRCs, the name of the car that won WSC and would follow BTC as well as TVR racing. The problem came from concentration on just the one formula to the detriment to every other sport. I remember queuing for an F2 race.
What has Ecclestone done for F1 that someone else would have done only cheaper?
Cheese Mechanic said:
Eric Mc said:
The old "jealousy" jibe.
Just because someone made themselves rich doesn't automatically mean they have to be admired.
Its one that fits, and usually well describes the relevant detractor.Spite and envy are very much the domain of losers, others too, but losers do make a meal of it. Just because someone made themselves rich doesn't automatically mean they have to be admired.
Nobody is forced to follow F1, don't like it clear off to footie ,always plenty of harping slack jawed knuckle draggers who always know how to do things better than those actually doing it, in that game.
Fact is, don't like Bernie (or others who dare to be successfull) then become a self made billionaire oneself, and usurp them. There, easy, eh?
No one is arguing about Ecclestone's ability to make money. My question was merely to point out that he has done little for F1. If Ecclestone hadn't had the TV rights then it is nonsense to suggest that the sport would not be one TV. Oh, hold on, it is on TV half the time.
As for not being 'forced' to watch F1, what on earth is that meant to mean? I love F1. I just don't think it is down to Ecclestone that it is such a spectacle. Indeed, I think his influence on the sport has been largely negative.
No envy on my side of Ecclestone nor his lifestyle. Nor, I feel it essential to add, his kids either.
So what has Ecclestone ever done for the F1 fan that would not have been done by someone else, only cheaper?
__________
There used to be F1 before Ecclestone. It used to be followed by the public as well. To suggest it is somehow better because there is more money being paid for the TV rights is to misunderstand F1.
Taking the sport away from Europe as its main base was going to mean major chances and in 2014 we will see the end of F1 and the start of a different formula. This formula has been invented by Ecclestone in order to make the TV rights saleable – although he doesn’t seem to have found anyone willing to pay his price at the moment. Whatever it is, it will not be F1.
Removing F1 from terrestrial TV will mean the sport will lose its fan base in this country. The fan base in other countries is fickle. It could disappear with a change of person in charge.
That is what Ecclestone has done for the sport.
With that much money going OUT of the sport, it's no wonder teams have to be propped up by funded drivers and the lower categories even more so. Imagine how even a fraction of that money could provide opportunities to teams and drivers through the racing ladder.
Before anyone points out the obvious, yes I know racing is all about money, always has been and always will be, but we're in danger of the next generation of drivers consisting mainly of rich but so so drivers. From an investors pov, that must be a concern because it will only devalue the sport.
Before anyone points out the obvious, yes I know racing is all about money, always has been and always will be, but we're in danger of the next generation of drivers consisting mainly of rich but so so drivers. From an investors pov, that must be a concern because it will only devalue the sport.
Anybody here know where I can get hold of the original source for the figures in this article? I've got to pin down a lot of F1 numbers for my course and as detailed as this article is, it just scratches the surface. I need many more figures so could do with the original docs. Any ideas? It's only for one of my modules so I'm no expert at this. Would be fantastic if you can point me in the right direction 
Tommy757 said:
Anybody here know where I can get hold of the original source for the figures in this article? I've got to pin down a lot of F1 numbers for my course and as detailed as this article is, it just scratches the surface. I need many more figures so could do with the original docs. Any ideas? It's only for one of my modules so I'm no expert at this. Would be fantastic if you can point me in the right direction
Have you tried searching the londonlovesbusiness.com website?Forums | General Motorsport | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff