McLaren F1 team valued at more than £3 billion in stake sale: sources
It is the latest bumper valuation for an F1 team amid the growing interest in the sport from fans and investors
[LONDON] McLaren Racing, the Formula One team that’s currently leading the championship, will be valued at more than £3 billion (S$5.2 billion) in a stake sale, according to two people familiar with the matter, underscoring continued investor bullishness about the sport.
The owners of McLaren Group Limited – Bahrain sovereign wealth fund Mumtalakat and Abu Dhabi-based CYVN Holdings – will take full control of the racing team, the people said, asking not to be named discussing the deal.
They will buy out the 30 per cent stake owned by MSP Sports Capital and other minority shareholders who bought into McLaren in 2020 at a valuation of £560 million. Walmart heir Rob Walton was also an investor during the round, Bloomberg previously reported.
McLaren Racing and MSP declined to comment. The stake sale was first reported by Sky News.
It is the latest bumper valuation for an F1 team amid the growing interest in the sport from fans and investors. The Aston Martin team is in talks to achieve a roughly £2.4 billion valuation in its latest stake sale, even though it’s well behind the frontrunners in the championship table.
The sport has boomed under the ownership of Liberty Media, thanks in part to the success of the Netflix behind-the-scenes show Formula 1: Drive to Survive, which has attracted new fans, particularly in the US. The recent F1: The Movie starring Brad Pitt has further broadened the sport’s appeal.
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Led by chief executive officer Zak Brown, McLaren Racing won the team championship last year for the first time in 26 years. The team’s drivers – Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris – are currently the top two contenders to win the drivers’ championship for McLaren for the first time since 2008.
While the F1 team’s been riding high, there is plenty of work to do at the high-end sports car maker McLaren Automotive that is part of the group.
CYVN is aiming to reverse years of losses at the cash-strapped manufacturer. McLaren has had to tap shareholders for funding on multiple occasions in recent years, sell some of its heritage car collection, offload its advanced technologies arm and completed a sale and leaseback of its Woking headquarters. BLOOMBERG
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