JULY 19, 2006

CVC sells Dorna stake

CVC Capital Partners, the venture capital company that owns the Formula One group but, disappointingly, seems to have had little influence beyond that, has now sold its stake in MotoGP promotion company Dorna. The sale was necessary to avoid European Union competition problems. The shares in Dorna have been acquired by a venture capital company called Bridgepoint. This has a strong link with CVC as its chairman David Shaw worked with CVC's Donald McKenzie in the 1980s at 3i plc before the two men embarked on their own businesses.

Getting rid of Dorna may free up CVC to take a closer look at Formula 1 which needs some care and attention if it is to find a better package for the future.