Formula One owner CVC to sell its stake in the sport by 2018 (Update)

UPDATE This rumor is downgraded to 'speculation' today. According to Ecclestone a "conversation" had taken place, although he was quick to point out that "just" a conversation had taken place and that it "may not go anywhere."

He added: "We'll see what the group comes up with – maybe they will get enough together to buy shares."

However, days later the F1 supremo, who later this month will face bribery charges in a Munich court, ruled it out.

"Maybe CVC will still try and float," he told Christian Sylt at the Financial Mail On Sunday.

"They are in no hurry to sell. I get the impression they don't want to get rid of Formula 1.

03/04/14 Embattled Formula One boss Bernie Ecclestone has revealed that CVC, the private equity firm which is Formula One's largest shareholder, will have to sell its stake in the world's most popular motorsports series by 2018 at the latest.

CVC paid $2 billion for F1 in 2006 using two loans — $965.6 million from its $7.3 billion investment Fund IV, and $1.1 billion from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS). CVC holds an approximately 35-percent stake in F1 and planned to exit through a flotation on the Singapore stock exchange in 2012. The global financial crisis put the brakes on that plan and, since then, there has been consistent chatter about CVC selling more of its investment in F1.

Recent rumors suggested that media mogul John Malone's Liberty Group had teamed up with Discovery Communications to make a bid for F1, but Ecclestone denied any knowledge of a takeover.

However, he told Britain's Guardian newspaper that “the way CVC [is] structured, I think they eventually have to sell, not just this company but any company. They can only keep [the stake] for a certain period." AutoWeek