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Filed under: Motorsports, Ferrari, Fiat

Bernie Ecclestone at Ferrari's Wroom event

Unlike most business deals, which are negotiated behind closed doors with the general populace happily unaware, the effort to buy out the commercial rights to Formula One has been very public.

First came the rumors that Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and a consortium of investors were interested in acquiring the rights from CVC Capital Partners, the current owners. Then their representative, Bernie Ecclestone, dismissed the reports offhand, insisting that the sport was not for sale. Following that, Exor (the Italian investment arm of the Agnelli family, which controls the Fiat empire) revealed itself to be the unnamed second party to Murdoch’s consortium, confirming that a bid is in the making. Now, CVC and Ferrari have responded with statements of their own.

For CVC’s part, the salient point in the press release (which you can read after the jump) is that while F1 is not currently for sale, “CVC recognises the quality of Exor and News Corporation as potential investors,” leading to speculation that News Corp and Exor could potentially buy part of the sport, if not the whole thing.

Meanwhile, Ferrari has responded to what it calls “many requests from the media wanting to know Ferrari’s opinion on this matter,” declaring that they are “not directly involved” in the bid and stressing “the importance of ensuring the long term stability and development of Formula 1.” While Maranello can deny being directly involved, the notion that the Agnelli/Elkann family would look into acquiring F1 without consulting their own team (headed by longtime confidant Luca di Montezemolo) is a bit much to swallow.

Continue reading Ferrari and CVC Capital join the F1 buyout debate

Ferrari and CVC Capital join the F1 buyout debate originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 08 May 2011 14:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Coupe, Performance, Europe, Earnings/Financials, Design/Style, Diesel

Sondergard Automotive Prototype – Click above for high-res image gallery

It’s hard to get a car company off of the ground these days – just look at Tesla. Despite strong financial backing from the federal government, partnerships with companies like Mercedes-Benz and Toyota and a strong IPO, many are still gun shy of Tesla stock. It’s notoriously difficult to come up with the kind of capital necessary to move a vehicle from a computer rendering to a full-blown production prototype, which may be why it appears that Sondergard Automotive has taken to courting investors via the miracle of eBay Motors. The company is primarily concerned with building a low-weight, low-emission sports car that’s as fun to drive as it is eco friendly.

According to the eBay ad, the company has already come up with one prototype that weighs just 1,300 lbs but packs more than 330 horsepower from an efficient diesel engine. How efficient? The company claims fuel economy well above the 80 mpg mark. Color us skeptical. If you’re more of the optimistic persuasion, Sondergard is looking for an investor willing to drop $7 million to fund the Lotus Seven/Donkervoort-like project, though it will also consider a number of smaller backers with the need to pony up $500,000 each. For more information, check out the company’s eBay auction listing.

Gallery: Sondergard Automotive Prototype

[Source: eBay Motors]

Sondergard Automotive looking for startup capital for lighweight, low C02 roadster… on eBay? originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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