German businessman who sued Ecclestone jumps into F1 bid talks
ONE OF the leaders of the German sports media firm that brought a $100m (£64m) case against Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone in 2013 has reportedly been brought on board as part of the consortium trying to buy the motor-racing giant.
Bidders RSE Ventures and Qatari Sport are looking to buy a controlling 35 per cent stake in the sporting group from CVC Capital Partners, and have teamed up with Dieter Hahn, chairman of the supervisory board of Constantin Medien, according to Reuters. Any deal would see Ecclestone also agree to sell his five per cent holding in the group.
Constantin Medien brought a damages claim against Ecclestone in the High Court two years ago, alleging that he had undervalued Formula 1 in selling it to CVC rather than a higher bidder. While the claim was originally dismissed, a judge made remarks alluding to Ecclestone making “bribe” payments. However, a subsequent appeal by Constantin Medien failed in November last year.
RSE Ventures, and Qatari Sports Investments are in the early stages of putting together a $8bn bid for Formula 1.