News Corp eyes Formula 1

News Corp is involved in early-stage moves to set up a consortium that could try to take control of Formula 1 motor racing, according to a report from Sky News.

According to the news channel, News Corp has been in early-stage talks with figures connected to one of the motor-racing teams involved in the sport and with Mexican media mogul Carlos Slim about working together on a plan to take control of Formula 1. JP Morgan is reported to be advising News Corp.

Sky News’s Mark Kleinman stressed that the consortium was only one of a number of options under consideration by News Corp, which faces a number of competing claims on its attention and finances, not least the prospective purchase of BSkyB in the UK.

News Corp is not believed to be in talks with Formula 1’s current commercial rights owner, CVC Capital Partners, which has not yet put it up for sale, and any deal is likely to be complicated by numerous uncertainties surrounding the value of the sport. Formula 1 CEO Bernie Ecclestone, who retains a stake in the sport, told the Telegraph newspaper that the report was “rubbish” and the sport was not for sale.