SUPERCARS SALE, DONE DEAL!

A new era of Supercars racing is about to begin following the sale of the category to a new group called RACE.

Archer Capital has ended years of speculation and uncertainty by selling its controlling stake in the Repco Supercars Championship.

Following months of informed speculation and anticipation, the deal was finally sealed yesterday and, although there is very little detail in the confirmation of the agreement, it closes one chapter in the history of the Australian Touring Car Championship and opens another.

The announcement says nothing about the teams’ stake in the series, although a total buy-out by RACE is considered part of the sale and the valuation of the series at around $93 million.

It will take until the end of the year for the sale process and ownership transition to occur, with RACE already working on plans for 2022 and beyond.

“The RACE board and I look forward to combining our collective resources, heralding an exciting new era in the growth of a sport that all Australians love,” said Race Chairman Barclay Nettlefold, who has led the RACE bid and is expected to become chairman of the new-look Supercars.

The RACE name has only emerged in the past week and stands for Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises Ltd.

The RACE consortium is led by Nettlefold, a Melbourne entrepreneur who is the global CEO of TGI Sport who is described as ‘a visionary and passionate leader in the outdoor media and sports industry with over 30 years’ experience across Asia Pacific’.

The other members of the consortium are the Australian Racing Group, which was originally created to promote the TCR Australia Series and other semi-professional motorsport categories including S5000, and Henslow, a business that specialises in private capital raising.

Henslow’s mission statement says it is ‘an independent advisory firm with global reach that supports and partners with growing companies, entrepreneurs, managers and investors’.

According to RACE, the ownership group has operational experience and brings significant marketing clout to Supercars and is excited about aligning the major circuit racing categories in Australia.

The outgoing chairman of Supercars and head of Archer Capital, Peter Wiggs, is clearly pleased with the new deal.

Although the sale price is less than one-third of the amount that Archer paid for Supercars, the company has written down its shareholding over its period of ownership and will bank a tidy profit.

“We set out to find a new majority shareholder that would be able to build on the work that Archer and the management team have done over the past five years,” says Wiggs.

“The expertise that RACE has in sport, media, marketing and digital will enable just that.”

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