The Frances have always remained steadfast in their commitment to keep NASCAR private, but a bruising past few months have tested that resolve.
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The lawsuit and its aftermath have heightened the sense that the France family may be more open to outside investors to the sanctioning body. NASCAR has allowed private equity firms to invest in team charters in the past, essentially mirroring other professional leagues that have allowed them to take minority stakes in teams. Sources say that media companies and private equity players have had informal talks about what it would look like to take a minority stake in the racing series.
Anyway, my phone has been buzzing with these rumors all week. Some have wondered whether the France family could be looking for strategic partners—like real estate companies that could develop around the circuit’s tracks—rather than selling an equity stake in the business. Others, of course, are hopeful this could be the first step toward an outright sale. There are plenty of companies that could be interested, including groups like Liberty, which owns Formula One, and TKO, which owns UFC and WWE. There’s the long list of private equity companies that already have a ton of sports investments, like Ares, Arctos, and Sixth Street. Then there are media companies that have long sought to own their own content. To be fair, this is all premature, and there’s been no indication that’s about to happen…
— Puck News —