Motor racing investment finally exited

Archer Capital has exited its 65% stake in motor racing events business Supercars to Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises Ltd (RACE).

RACE is led by TGI Sport chairman Barclay Nettlefold and also includes motor racing promotion body Australian Racing Group and corporate advisory firm Henslow. RACE is believed to have separately acquired the individual stakes owned by racing teams which make up the remaining 35% of the Supercars business. 

Archer paid around $180 million for 60% of what was then V8 Supercars in 2011. That was long before Ford and General Motors Holden announced they would cease building vehicles in Australia.

Archer has been seeking to exit Supercars at least since 2017. 

Over the last two years, Supercars has had to endure loss of events and re-scheduling resulting from COVID-19 restrictions including rescheduling its main event, the Repco Bathurst 1000, this year. A full program is now planned for 2022.

Announcing agreement of the sale in November, Archer chairman Peter Wiggs said: “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. The expertise that RACE has in sport, media, marketing and digital will enable just that.”

Miles Advisory Partners, which advised Archer on acquisition of V8 Supercars, was given the task of selling the business. Several groups showed early interest in acquiring Supercars but most had dropped out by the time RACE was identified as the preferred bidder.

TGI Sport, which was established in 1997, describes itself as an infrastructure, technology and media rights business. TGI Sport has worked with Rugby Australia, Football Federation Australia and Cricket Australia as well as international sporting organisations including FIFA, UEFA, NBA, NHL and MotoGP.

Australian Racing Group, which was set up in 2018, runs motorsports events including the Bathurst 6 Hour and Bathurst International.

Archer has not revealed the sale price for its stake but it is believed to have been significantly less than its purchase price.

Image: Supercars racing at the Mount Panorama circuit, Bathurst, NSW.