Formula E Commits To FIA Payments

Formula E "has committed to paying" at least $24.3M to motorsports governing body FIA over the next 10 years, according to Christian Sylt of AUTOWEEK. The series' launch this September "comes at just the right time for the FIA," as its latest accounts show that it made a net loss of $3.4M on total revenue of $81.5M in '12.

Formula E's payment includes a $4.2M share of the proceeds from an estimated $21M investment in December "in Formula E's Hong Kong-based parent company Formula E Holdings (FEH)." The investment "was made by Causeway Media Partners," an investment fund founded by venture capitalist Bob Higgins along with NBA Celtics Managing Partner & CEO Wyc Grousbeck and Celtics investor Mark Wan. The group joins Spanish businessman Enrique Banuelos and Formula E CEO Alejandro Agag, the "majority shareholders of FEH."

A summary of a '12 agreement between the FIA and Formula E also "reveals that the FIA will receive fees of $67,000 from each of the 10 teams and $135,000 per race which 'should generate an additional revenue of $2 million for the FIA in 2014.'" AutoWeek