The Formula One logo.

The Formula One Group is a group of companies responsible for the promotion of the FIA Formula One World Championship and exploitation of the sport's commercial rights.^[1] The Group is owned ultimately by Delta Topco, a Jersey–based company owned by CVC Capital Partners' funds (approximately 70%) and JP Morgan and Lehman Brothers (approximately 20%). Bernie Ecclestone's family trust owns the remainder apart from small shares held by financial advisers and Ecclestone himself.^[2] Image File history File links F1_logo. ... Image File history File links F1_logo. ... The Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile, commonly referred to as the FIA, is a non-profit association established on June 20, 1904 to represent the interest of motoring organisations and motor car users. ... Formula One - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... CVC Capital Partners is a European private equity firm. ... Funds financial information A collective investment scheme is a way of investing money with a large number of people to participate in a wider range of investments that may not be feasible for an individual investor hence many investors share the costs of doing so. ... JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) is one of the oldest financial services firms in the world. ... Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ... Bernard Charles Bernie Ecclestone (born October 22, 1930 near Bungay, Suffolk, England) is the president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration, and owns a stake in Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. ...

"Formula One Group" strictly refers to Formula One Management, Formula One Administration and Formula One Licensing BV,^[3] which are subsidiaries of the Formula One Holdings holding company. However Delta Topco owns other Formula One businesses which are referred to in the same way.

History

In 1974 the Formula One Constructors Association, or FOCA, was founded in order to increase commercial organisation of Formula One for the benefit of the racing teams. In 1978 Bernie Ecclestone became the executive of FOCA and fought the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) for control of F1 commercial rights. Disputes were settled by March 1981 when the Concorde Agreement gave FOCA the right to negotiate TV contracts. Under previous arrangements, TV contracts were not very lucrative and were risky. When the Concorde Agreement ended in 1987, Bernie Ecclestone ceased being a team owner and established the Formula One Promotions and Administration, or FOPA, to manage TV rights for the teams. FOPA would later become known as Formula One Management. FOPA received 23% of TV revenues, 47% went to the teams, and 30% to the FIA. FOPA, however, received all the fees paid by promoters. In exchange for this FOPA paid prize money to the teams. The Formula One Constructors Association (FOCA) is an organization of the chassis builders (constructors) who design and build the cars that race in the Formula One Grands Prix. ... The Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile, commonly referred to as the FIA, is a non-profit association established in 1904 to represent the interest of motoring organisations and motor car users. ... The Concorde Agreement is a contract between the FIA, the Formula One teams and Formula One Administration which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races and take their share of the television revenues and prize money. ... Formula One Promotions and Administration was a company formed by Bernie Ecclestone to manage the commerical rights of Formula One. ...

Bernie Ecclestone, CEO of FOM and FOA

In 1995 the FIA decided to grant the commercial rights to F1 to Formula One Administration (managed by FOM) for a 14 year period. In exchange, Ecclestone would provide an annual payment. With FOM having exclusive rights to popular team names like Team McLaren, WilliamsF1, and Tyrrell Formula One, the aforementioned teams protested by rejecting the following Concorde Agreement in 1997. Team McLaren, WilliamsF1, Scuderia Ferrari and Renault F1 formed GPWC Holdings and threatened to form a rival racing franchise in 2008 when their current contract ends in 2007. Formula One impresario Bernie Ecclestone, flanked by Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher (left) and McLaren driver Mika Hakkinen This work is copyrighted. ... Formula One impresario Bernie Ecclestone, flanked by Ferrari driver Michael Schumacher (left) and McLaren driver Mika Hakkinen This work is copyrighted. ... Bernard Charles Bernie Ecclestone (born October 22, 1930 near Bungay, Suffolk, England) is the president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration, and owns a stake in Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. ... Organisation of commerical operations of Formula One Formula One Administration Ltd. ... McLaren, founded in 1963 by Bruce McLaren (1937–1970), is a racing team based in Woking, England, which is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed in the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, Canadian-American Challenge Cup, and 24 Hours of Le Mans. ... Not to be confused with Frank Williams Racing Cars, formed by Frank Williams 1967. ... McLaren, founded in 1963 by Bruce McLaren (1937–1970), is a racing team based in Woking, England, which is best known as a Formula One constructor but has also competed in the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, Canadian-American Challenge Cup, and 24 Hours of Le Mans. ... Not to be confused with Frank Williams Racing Cars, formed by Frank Williams 1967. ... Scuderia Ferrari is the name for the Gestione Sportiva, the division of the Ferrari automobile company concerned with racing. ... Renault F1 is the Renault companys Formula One racing team. ...

Ecclestone sells shares of F1

SLEC Holdings was created as the holding company of the Formula One companies in 1996 when Bernie Ecclestone transferred his ownership of Formula One businesses to his wife, Slavica Ecclestone, in preparation for a 1997 flotation of the group.^[4] In October 1999 Morgan Grenfell Private Equity (MGPE) acquired 12.5% of SLEC for £234 million.^[5] In February 2000 Hellman and Friedman purchased a 37.5% share of SLEC for £625 million and combined its share with that of MGPE to form Speed Investments which thus had a combined holding of 50% of SLEC.^[5][6] On 22 March 2000 German media company EM.TV & Merchandising purchased Speed Investments for £1.1 billion.^[7] is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... EM.TV AG (formerly EM.TV & Merchandising AG) is a Munich-based media group; EM.TV stands for Entertainment, Merchandising, TV. History EM.TV was founded by Thomas Haffa. ...

EM.TV's acquisitions caused it financial difficulties; following its announcement that its 2000 earnings would be below expectations and it was struggling with its debts, the share price dropped 90%.^[8] In February the Kirch Group agreed to rescue EM.TV in return for a stake in the company and control of Speed Investments.^[6] The two companies also agreed to exercise EM.TV's option to purchase another 25% of SLEC for approximately £600 million in late-March 2001.^[9] To raise Speed Investments' share of SLEC to 75% Kirch borrowed €1.6 billion, €1 billion from Bayerische Landesbank and the rest from Lehman Brothers and JP Morgan Chase.^[10] Kirch's involvement raised concerns among the major motor manufacturers who participate in Formula One; BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Fiat, Ford, and Renault formed GPWC Holding BV to secure better representation of the manufacturers in F1, improved financial conditions for the teams, stability for the championship, and maintenance of free-to-air television coverage.^[10] BayernLB or Bayerische Landesbank is a large international commercial bank based in Munich, Germany. ... Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. ... For other uses, see BMW (disambiguation). ... DaimlerChrysler AG (ISIN: DE0007100000) is a German car corporation and the worlds eighth largest car manufacturer. ... For other uses, see Fiat (disambiguation). ... Ford may mean a number of things: A ford is a river crossing. ... For the author, see Mary Renault. ...

Due to the agreement associated with their shareholding SLEC was controlled by Kirch, who hence controlled the board of Formula One Holdings (FOH). Due to huge losses and massive expenditure, Kirch's creditors put the company into receivership in 2002. These banks dismantled the group. Kirch's share of SLEC was retained by Bayerische Landesbank, JP Morgan Chase and Lehman Brothers (through Speed Investments). Bankruptcy is a legally declared inability or impairment of ability of an individual or organization to pay their creditors. ... BayernLB or Bayerische Landesbank is a large international commercial bank based in Munich, Germany. ... J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. ... Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ...

Before they could exercise their rights as shareholders they had to seek clearance from the European Commission. In the intervening period Ecclestone instituted changes in the boards of SLEC, FOH, Formula One Administration and Formula One Management which in effect put Bambino Holdings in control of those companies. Berlaymont, the Commissions seat The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. ...

In mid-November 2004, the three banks sued Ecclestone for more control over the sport, prompting speculation that Ecclestone might altogether lose the control he has maintained for more than thirty years. A two-day hearing began on November 23, but after the proceedings had ended the following day, Justice Andrew Park announced his intention to reserve ruling for several weeks. On December 6, 2004, Park read his verdict, stating that "In [his] judgment it is clear that Speed's contentions are correct and [he] should therefore make the declarations which it requests" [1]. However, Ecclestone insisted that the verdict - seen almost universally as a legal blow to his control of Formula One - would mean "nothing at all" [2]. He stated his intention to appeal the decision. is the 327th day of the year (328th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the concept of justice. ... is the 340th day of the year (341st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

The following day, at a meeting of team bosses at Heathrow Airport in London, Ecclestone offered the teams a total of £260,000,000 over three years in return for unanimous renewal of the Concorde Agreement, which expires in 2008 [3]. Weeks later, Gerhard Gibkowsky, a board member of Bayerische Landesbank and the chairman of SLEC, stated that the banks had no intention to remove Ecclestone from his position of control [4]. London Heathrow Airport (IATA airport code: LHR, ICAO airport code: EGLL, and often simply Heathrow) is the United Kingdoms busiest and best-connected airport. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... The Concorde Agreement is a contract between the FIA, the Formula One teams and Formula One Administration which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races and take their share of the television revenues and prize money. ...

CVC acquisition

In November 2005 CVC Capital Partners announced it was to acquire the 25% and 48% shares of Bambino and Bayerische Landesbank in SLEC and acquired the shares of JP Morgan Chase in December 2005. This deal was given approval by the European Commission on March 21 2006 and finalised on March 28. Ecclestone used the proceeds of the sale of Bambino Holdings' share to invest in Alpha Prema to give the Ecclestone family an unspecified stake in Alpha Prema. [5]

On March 30 2006 CVC purchased the 14.1% share of SLEC held by Lehman Brothers to give Alpha Prema full control of the Formula One Group.

Group companies

The Group companies are subsidiaries of Formula One Holdings (FOH), itself a subsidiary of SLEC Holdings. As of September 2007 the board of FOH consisted of Donald Mackenzie, Nicholas James Clarry, Sacha Jane Woodward Hill, Bernie Ecclestone and Duncan Llowarch. Donald MacKenzie is a Professor of Sociology at the University of Edinburgh. ... Bernard Charles Bernie Ecclestone (born October 22, 1930 near Bungay, Suffolk, England) is the president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration, and owns a stake in Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. ...

Formula One Administration

Formula One Administration Ltd. or FOA holds the commercial rights to Formula One. These rights are granted to FOA by the FIA under the terms of the Concorde Agreement and are managed by Formula One Management. The Concorde Agreement is a contract between the FIA, the Formula One teams and Formula One Administration which dictates the terms by which the teams compete in races and take their share of the television revenues and prize money. ...

In its annual accounts filed with Companies House, FOA reported turnover of $750 million and pre-tax profits of $447 million (up from $215m in 2003 and $127m in 2002). This has allowed the company to slash its debts by $347 million to $121 million. [6] Companies House is an Executive Agency of the United Kingdom Government Department of Trade and Industry (DTI). ...

Still from the Sweeping Curves device. This 10 second ident, shown on the TV broadcast shortly before the start of a race, culminates in the lines coming together to form the F1 logo, along with an FOM copyright notice.

Formula One Management

Formula One Management Ltd. controls the media distribution and promotion of content regarding Formula One. The Formula One website content is managed by Formula One Management. Financially, FOM provides partial investment for tracks and teams in order to establish Formula One where its popularity may not be well established. FOM maintains the commercial rights to the team names and all media content regarding Formula One. Coordination of planning and racing events are done with the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile or FIA. In recent years, the FOM has had to step in and shut down many internet websites that make F1-related videos available for viewing and/or download online, due to this being in breach of their copyright laws. They also very regularly remove videos from free video sites such as YouTube under claims of copyright infringement. The Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile, commonly referred to as the FIA, is a non-profit association established on June 20, 1904 to represent the interest of motoring organisations and motor car users. ... The Fédération Internationale de lAutomobile, commonly referred to as the FIA, is a non-profit association established on June 20, 1904 to represent the interest of motoring organisations and motor car users. ... This article is about the computer terms. ... Not to be confused with copywriting. ... YouTube is a popular video sharing website where users can upload, view and share video clips. ...

The president of FOM is Bernie Ecclestone who has presided over the company since it has existed in its current form. Bernard Charles Bernie Ecclestone (born October 22, 1930 near Bungay, Suffolk, England) is the president and CEO of Formula One Management and Formula One Administration, and owns a stake in Alpha Prema, the parent company of the Formula One Group of companies. ...

Formula One Licensing BV

Formula One Licensing BV owns the Formula One trademarks; the F1 logo, "Formula 1", "Formula One", "F1" and the "Sweeping Curves device" shown before Grands Prix.^[3]

Formula One Productions

Is part of the Formula One Management, its concerns itself with producing the race content of grand prix. It however does not include any commentary or pit side broadcasts, which are done by the production companies who own the rights - e.g. North One Television for the UK. They are based in Biggin Hill, just outside of London. The company also produce the end of year review DVDs. North One Television is a television production company based in London and Birmingham, England, and Sydney, Australia. ... , Biggin Hill is a place in the London Borough of Bromley in London, England. ...

Related companies

Allsport Management

Allsport Management SA is a Swiss registered company which manages the sale of almost all Formula One trackside advertising and the Formula One Paddock Club. F1 redirects here. ...

Allsport Management was founded by Paddy McNally who had begun to work with Bernie Ecclestone in the late 1970s. McNally, who was a former Marlboro sponsorship consultant, came up with a solution to "tidy up" trackside advertising; This solution was called "themed advertising" where one advertiser is given total exposure at one part of the track.^[11] This is in contrast to the Monaco Grand Prix, the only grand prix where Allsport is not involved, where space is sold such that multiple advertisers are visible in every picture. This is arguably less effective.^[11] Marlboro logo Marlboro is a brand of cigarette made by Altria. ... The Monaco Grand Prix (Grand Prix de Monaco) is a Formula One race held each year on the Circuit de Monaco. ...

In 2006 Allsport Management (and the related Allsopp Parker & Marsh companies) were acquired by the Formula One Group.^[12] This deal, estimated to be worth $350m, simplified the formerly secretive structure of Formula One and means all the revenues from the sport are now paid directly into the Formula One Group.^[13]

Others

Other companies include Formula One Asset Management, Formula One World Championship Ltd., Formula One Productions Ltd. and Formula One World Travel Ltd.

References