Will Bernie and CVC buy NASCAR?

UPDATE NASCAR says speculation that its family-owned company is for sale to the same European private equity firm that owns the Formula One group is "unequivocally false." A recent report in the racing business newsletter The Business of Motorsport, suggested that CVC Capital Partners, which manages funds internationally totaling more than $23.7 billion, was the "most-likely buyer" of NASCAR, Inc. from the France family. NASCAR spokesman Ramsey Poston, quoting a conversation he had on the matter with chairman Brian France, said France's reaction was an emphatic no. France said "It's a dead end story that has nothing remotely accurate," Poston said. "I spoke with Brian. NASCAR is not for sale." CVC representatives, reached in the company's New York office Friday, chose not to comment on the matter. CVC Capital Partners opened its first US office in Manhattan in March "to expand its American business," and already has purchased the luggage company Samsonite for $1.7 billion. CVC also recently bought the GP2 racing series for $300 million, and the report states that speculation has surfaced that they're also contemplating purchasing the sanctioning body that owns the Dakar Rally and Tour de France cycle race. Marty Smith/ESPN.com

11/14/07 According to Grandprix.com, CVC Capital Partners – which already owns F1 and the GP2 series and indirectly controls MotoGP through another company – is negotiating to buy NASCAR. If true, Bernie Ecclestone is probably involved as well as he has close ties to CVC Capital Partners. In March CVC established its first US office on Fifth Avenue in New York, the aim being to expand its business in the United States. It hired a string of private equity people and they began sniffing around US firms to target. The first deal was the $1.7bn purchase of Samsonite.