Bernie Ecclestone has suggested he would again be willing to take control of Formula One.
Ecclestone last ruled F1 in 2005, selling out to private equity firm CVC Partners for whom he now serves as chief executive, for US$1.7bn. It is estimated the growing brand of F1 is now potentially worth around five times that figure, yet Ecclestone would appear to be interested.
As the commercial rights holder, Ecclestone already has a large amount of control when it comes to negotiating contracts with circuits and television companies. But it seems the 80-year-old, who shows no sign of slowing down, may yet be willing to take charge again. Asked if he would be interested in buying back F1, Ecclestone was unequivocal in his response – "Yes, absolutely."
There are other interested parties, with rumours still persisting with regard to Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation in conjunction with one of Europe's leading investment firms Exor. However, Ecclestone maintains no conversation has ever taken place with them with regard to any potential buy-out.
Like that consortium, though, any purchase on his part would have to be at the right price, unsurprising given his reputation as a hardball negotiator.
"I wouldn't buy at the price that I think CVC would sell it," said Ecclestone in the International Herald Tribune. "But I would certainly buy at the price they [News Corporation and Exor] want to pay."
If it is not Ecclestone who eventually returns to running F1, he maintains he does definitely care as to whose hands it falls into come the day any sale does take place. "I care that people that own the company want to own it and run it in the correct manner," he said.
Despite the fact News Corporation and Exor have yet to show their hands, there are stumbling blocks to any deal with both companies.
"[There is] a little bit of a problem with Murdoch because they are more or less on pay-TV," said Ecclestone in relation to the Australian's Sky network. And we have to be, according to the European Union, on free-to-air television. Our agreement with them was that we are everywhere on free-to-air television.
"And the other people [Exor] own Fiat, and the teams don't seem that excited about another team having big control over the regulations, or whatever. So there is a bit of a conflict there."
There have been suggestions that speculation regarding a takeover is a ploy to ramp up the negotiations of the new Concorde Agreement that binds together the teams, the FIA and Ecclestone.
The latest Concorde Agreement is due to come into force in 2013, yet Ecclestone said: "It certainly won't make any difference. The bottom line is simple. If there is no Concorde Agreement it doesn't make that much difference.
"All the Concorde Agreement is is really us telling the people what we are going to pay them. If there was no Concorde Agreement, same thing, we would run the championship and we would pay the people probably a lot less than they get now."
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