UBS joins Goldman in role for Formula One IPO

UPDATE Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has hired UBS and Goldman Sachs to lead an expected US$2 billion initial public offering (IPO) of Formula One on the Singapore Stock Exchange, Reuters has reported.

Citing sources with “direct knowledge of the matter", Reuters stated that the IPO is expected in July with Goldman and UBS set to perform the lead roles of joint global coordinator and bookrunner for the process. Bank of America-Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank were also reportedly invited to take part in a pitching process conducted in Singapore last week. Goldman has already conducted early work on the process, while UBS has close ties to F1 as an official global partner of the sport.

CVC holds a 63.4% stake in Formula One. Reuters reports that CVC is seeking to list part of the business in Singapore, which stages an annual grand prix, but would continue to hold a stake. The report comes after Formula One’s commercial rights-holder Bernie Ecclestone last month said the majority of the championship’s teams, including Ferrari, McLaren and Red Bull Racing, had reached an agreement to continue racing after the current Concorde Agreement expires at the end of this season. The confidential Agreement between Ecclestone’s Formula One Management (FOM) and the teams divides up the commercial revenues of the sport, including television rights and prize money. Sportsbusiness.com

04/16/12 Private equity firm CVC Capital Partners has hired UBS and Goldman Sachs as joint global coordinators and bookrunners for Formula One's roughly $2 billion initial public offering in Singapore expected in July, sources with direct knowledge of the deal said on Monday.

Goldman's role in the deal was expected, given the bank's early work on the process, while for UBS, the top status on the IPO is a major boost for its Southeast Asia operation.

Several top investment banks are competing for a role in the offering, both for prestige in being part of such a high profile transaction, and for the tens of millions of dollars in fees the deal will produce.

Like any major stock offering in its early stages, the final list of banks involved has yet to be determined. CVC, Goldman Sachs and UBS declined to comment. Reuters/SBS World News