Could struggling NASCAR be up for sale?
France family has controlled the series for past 70 years
The majority owners of NASCAR, the company that operates the American stock car racing series, are exploring options that include the sale of a majority stake, it was reported Monday by Reuters News Service.
According to Reuters, the France family, which controls NASCAR, is working with investment bank Goldman Sachs Group to identify a potential deal for the company.
Reuters reported that three sources it had contacted said that the deliberations are at the exploratory stage and no agreement of any kind is certain.
NASCAR was founded by Bill France Sr. 70 years ago. Grandson Brian France is the series current CEO and chairman.
Jon Schwartz, a spokesman for NASCAR, told USA TODAY that the series had no comment.
In February, SportsBusiness Journal wrote that while NASCAR said in a statement that it is not for sale, recent developments have fueled the speculation and it’s been a topic of major discussion along pit road and among motor sports observers.
Several NASCAR and International Speedway Corp. executives have taken on dual roles at both companies, SBJ reported.
SportsBusiness Journal also reported that Brian France and the Smith family, who operate Charlotte Motor Speedway, have been linked to possible involvement in a bid for the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and that ISC President John Saunders indicated during a recent earnings report that the company is open to consolidation in the sport.
The Charlotte Observer reported in January that Bruton Smith, the executive chairman of Speedway Motorsports, the Concord (N.C.)-based company that operates Charlotte Motor Speedway and other racetracks, and his son, Marcus, the company’s CEO, have expressed interest in buying Charlotte’s NFL team if it ever came up for sale.
NASCAR has struggled since the boom years of the mid-1990s and early 2000s with a shrinking fan base and falling television ratings. However, several aging racetracks have undergone multimillion-dollar renovations in recent years to make them more fanfriendly.
Also, last month Monster Energy and NASCAR extended their sponsorship deal through 2019.