The Agnelli family's
investment company, EXOR, has announced that it is
teaming up with Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation to
explore the possibility of creating a consortium that
could lead to the eventual purchase of F1 from its
current owners, CVC.
With EXOR holding the
Agnelli's stake in Fiat - the biggest shareholder in the
Italian carmaker - and in turn Fiat's ownership of
Ferrari, the announcement has created a media frenzy
over the last 48 hours. More fuel was added to the fire,
which has been burning for a fortnight, yesterday when
Ferrari chose to issue a statement on its website that
posed more questions than it answered.
The joint statement
from EXOR and News Corporation read: "EXOR, one of
Europe’s largest listed investment companies, and News
Corporation, the global media group, confirm that they
are in the early stages of exploring the possibility of
creating a consortium with a view to formulating a
long-term plan for the development of Formula One in the
interests of the participants and the fans. Over the
coming weeks and months, EXOR and News Corporation will
approach potential minority partners and key
stakeholders in the sport. There can be no certainty
that this will lead to an approach to Formula One’s
current owners." The media has widely speculated that
Mexican businessman Carlos Slim, reputedly the world's
richest man, is also involved in the negotiations.
Yesterday, Ferrari issued
a statement on its website that read: "There has been
much turbulent discussion following yesterday’s press
release from Exor and News Corporation regarding the
future of Formula 1 and, obviously, there have been many
requests from the media wanting to know Ferrari’s
opinion on this matter. We have no comment to make,
partly because we are not directly involved at the
moment," said a Maranello spokesperson. "All we can do
is repeat what has already been said so often in the
past: Ferrari stresses the importance of ensuring the
long term stability and development of Formula 1."
