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General Sports Thread

Discussion in 'Southampton' started by The Ides of March, Oct 24, 2016.

  1. tomw24

    tomw24 Well-Known Member
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    Of course but it sounds like Joshua may have a fight lined up in February so I still think he'll finish this one early.
     
    #10481
  2. Number 1 Jasper

    Number 1 Jasper Well-Known Member

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    Nice little earner .


    Wolff sells £230m stake valuing Mercedes F1 at £4.6bn
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    IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
    Image caption,
    Toto Wolff will remain as team principal at Mercedes

    By
    Andrew Benson
    F1 Correspondent in Las Vegas
    • Published
      4 hours ago
    Toto Wolff has sold 15% of his shareholding in the Mercedes Formula 1 team to American billionaire George Kurtz.

    Kurtz, 55, is the founder of the cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike, which is a sponsor of Mercedes.

    The deal values Mercedes F1 at $6bn (£4.6bn), a record for an F1 team. McLaren were valued at £3.5bn in a change of ownership structure in September.

    Wolff's holding company owns one-third of Mercedes F1, so the shareholding he is selling equates to 5% of the team.

    Wolff, who will net $300m (£230m) from the deal, will stay on as team principal and chief executive officer, while the governance of Mercedes F1 continues unchanged.

    Kurtz, whose stake is coming out of his personal funds rather than his company's, said the valuation put on the team was "in line with the market", adding that "if you look at sports [valuations] across the globe, they are all up".

    Kurtz said: "Formula 1 is really at an inflection point where it is a thriving business.

    "If you're making an investment like this, you believe that the sport is going to grow, F1 is going to grow and the team valuations are going to grow, and you're going to be able to contribute to that growth."

    Kurtz will not be on the main board but will join the team's strategic steering committee, on which Ola Kallenius, the chairman of the management board of the Mercedes Group, Ineos chairman Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Wolff meet to discuss issues to do with the team.

    Kurtz described his role as "nothing more than a seat at the table to provide input and discussions".

    Wolff said: "George's background is unusual in its breadth: he's a racer, a loyal sporting ambassador for Mercedes-AMG, and an exceptional entrepreneur.

    "He understands both the demands of racing and the realities of building and scaling technology businesses. That combination brings specific insight that is increasingly relevant to the future of Formula 1."

    The deal represents a more than seven-fold increase in the value of Mercedes F1 since Ineos bought its one-third stake for £208m in 2020.

    The rise reflects the growth in valuations of F1 teams in the past few years as a consequence of the increasing appeal of the sport around the world.

    This was also seen in the success of the F1 movie starring Brad Pitt, which was released last summer and has grossed more than $630m (£482m) at the box office. It is Pitt's most successful film and the most successful sports movie of all time.

    Mercedes are second in the constructors' championship with three races remaining this season, starting with this weekend's Las Vegas Grand Prix.

    Their lead driver George Russell has won two of the 21 grands prix this year and is fourth in the drivers' championship behind McLaren's Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri and Red Bull's Max Verstappen.

    Less than Man Utd but more than Liverpool - analysis
    The valuation put on this deal is a measure of the growth in F1 over the past few years, which is being reflected in the perceived value of teams.

    Valuations typically come from a given multiple of revenue or profitability. In this case, Mercedes' valuation is just over seven times its revenue, which was £636m last year.

    A similar calculation was used for the McLaren valuation in September.

    In terms of other sporting entities, Mercedes are valued at slightly less than Manchester United and slightly more than Liverpool - so it's in the ballpark of valuations for leading non-US sports franchises.

    Teams in US leagues, such as American football's NFL and ice hockey's NHL, are significantly higher.

    Kurtz said he had based his decision to invest on F1's recent growth in the US market, through the Netflix Drive to Survive series and three grands prix in Austin, Miami and Las Vegas, in addition to the other race in North America in Mexico.

    He said: "It's a thriving business. And from that standpoint, if you have a thriving business with more market opportunity, particularly in the US, in my opinion, you're going to see valuations grow. Can it grow into something like the NBA or like the NFL? I think so, which is why I invested."

    F1 team valuations are increasing because the sport is growing in popularity, there are predictable outgoings because of the cost cap - which was introduced in 2021 - and the team, in this case, and F1 both have long-term stable sponsorship income and partner contracts.

    Mercedes' revenue comes from sponsorship and licensing, F1 prize money and other revenues from inside the sport - for example selling gearboxes to Williams and Aston Martin.

    Mercedes is one of F1's two most valuable teams, along with Ferrari, which is valued at $6.5bn (£5bn) by Forbes. It is an intrinsic part of the wider car company, which is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. McLaren and Red Bull are next, followed by Aston Martin and Williams.

    Forbes predicts the entry of Cadillac, part of US car giant General Motors, next year, will further elevate valuations.
     
    #10482
  3. Le Tissier's Laces

    Le Tissier's Laces Well-Known Member

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    Surely people must be running out of excuses for Lewis now? Sad to see.
     
    #10483
  4. tomw24

    tomw24 Well-Known Member
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    Not a bad race from him TBF.
     
    #10484
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  5. tomw24

    tomw24 Well-Known Member
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    Norris and Piastri could be disqualified! And they should be, a skid block issue is a slam dunk DQ.
     
    #10485
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  6. Number 1 Jasper

    Number 1 Jasper Well-Known Member

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    I’m going to wait and see how he goes in the 2026 cars .
     
    #10486
  7. Number 1 Jasper

    Number 1 Jasper Well-Known Member

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    Norris and Piastri face possible disqualifications
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    IMAGE SOURCE, GETTY IMAGES
    Image caption,
    Lando Norris leads McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri by 30 points with a maximum of 58 available in the final two races, pending a potential disqualification

    By
    Andrew Benson
    F1 Correspondent in Las Vegas
    Updated 38 minutes ago
    Lando Norris and team-mate Oscar Piastri face potentially being disqualified from the Las Vegas Grand Prix for technical infringements.

    The skid blocks on both cars were found after the race to be less than the minimum depth. The matter has been referred to the stewards but would normally result in disqualification.

    If they are thrown out of the race, Norris, who finished second to Red Bull's Max Verstappen, would be 24 points ahead of both the Dutchman and Piastri going into the penultimate race of the season in Qatar next weekend.

    Team principal Andrea Stella's post-race news conference has been delayed and no-one from the team was available to answer media inquiries.

    There are a maximum of 58 points available in the final two grands prix with Qatar being a sprint event.

    After Qatar, the final race follows in Abu Dhabi on 7 December.
     
    #10487
  8. Libby

    Libby Derby County, we're coming for you

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    Pretty dull race. Great drive from Antionelli.
     
    #10488
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  9. Libby

    Libby Derby County, we're coming for you

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    DQ's confirmed! That makes things more interesting.

    Laces will be pleased I'm sure...
     
    #10489
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  10. Le Tissier's Laces

    Le Tissier's Laces Well-Known Member

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    It was okay. Nothing special tbh and miles off CLC again.

    As Jasper says, let's see what 2026 brings, but if it's the same situation, they have to look at bringing Bearman in.
     
    #10490

  11. Le Tissier's Laces

    Le Tissier's Laces Well-Known Member

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    Spicy time for me in Abu Dhabi then!
     
    #10491
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  12. Libby

    Libby Derby County, we're coming for you

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    I think Lewis will retire end of next season. Clearly miles past his best and not sure he has the motivation to continue as a midfield car.
     
    #10492
  13. Le Tissier's Laces

    Le Tissier's Laces Well-Known Member

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    I could still do with Lando not finishing in Qatar...
     
    #10493
  14. Libby

    Libby Derby County, we're coming for you

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    Yeah still seems massively unlikely. A Lando win there would all but seal it.
     
    #10494
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  15. Le Tissier's Laces

    Le Tissier's Laces Well-Known Member

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    #10495
  16. tomw24

    tomw24 Well-Known Member
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    #10496
  17. Le Tissier's Laces

    Le Tissier's Laces Well-Known Member

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    Sure, but he’s been brought into the team as an experienced leader. You’d have kittens if Oriol said something similar, whilst being paid a world more than anyone else. I can’t stand Elkann, but he kind of has a point with Lewis.

    It’s not nice to see, and I wish he’d called it quits a year ago tbh.
     
    #10497
  18. tomw24

    tomw24 Well-Known Member
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    He may have done if it wasn’t for Michael ****ing Masi.
     
    #10498
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  19. Le Tissier's Laces

    Le Tissier's Laces Well-Known Member

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    V true.

    Look, I’m openly a Charles fan, as you know, and was one of seemingly only a few voices that thought current edition Lewis would really struggle against him coming in to Ferrari, and so it’s turned out. But I like Lewis, he’s been an incredible positive for F1 over the years, and I take no pleasure in what’s happening with him. It’s actually quite depressing.
     
    #10499

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