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TWG Global says its motorsport properties are not for sale
TWG Global says it is not considering the sale of any elements of TWG Motorsport, including the Cadillac Formula 1 Team.
The future of TWG’s sporting assets have become the center of speculation since its CEO Mark Walter sold the Los Angeles Lakers earlier this month. The deal valued the Lakers at $12.5 billion – up from the $10b he paid for it last year – and came at the same time as a U.S. federal investigation into Walter’s business empire.
While it has been widely reported that Walter is also exploring the sale of his 12.8% stake in English Premier League soccer team Chelsea, raising questions over whether the entire sports portfolio – that also includes the L.A. Dodgers in MLB and the WNBA – could be available to acquire, TWG says its motorsport teams are unaffected.
“TWG is not considering a sale of the Cadillac team or any other part of TWG Motorsport,” a TWG Global statement read.
As well as the Cadillac F1 team, TWG Motorsport’s assets also include Andretti Global – featuring entries in IndyCar and Formula E – Spire Motorsports in NASCAR, Walkinshaw TWG Racing in Australian Supercars and Wayne Taylor Racing in IMSA.
Asked by RACER if he had sought assurances relating to TWG’s current situation before taking on the Cadillac team principal job last week, new arrival Marcin Budkowski insisted the investments made in the F1 project show the ongoing commitment.
“There was absolutely no discussion about that,” Budkowski said. “There's no doubt for me that there's no influence there. The new factory, my appointment, there's key personnel that hopefully we will be able to announce soon as well.
“I think it just shows the commitment and the investment behind the project.”
Budkowski will take charge of his first race as team principal of Cadillac at this weekend’s Dutch Grand Prix, while the team says CEO Dan Towriss – who is also CEO of TWG Global subsidiary Group 1001 – will be present with Andretti’s IndyCar team at the Freedom 250 Grand Prix in Washington, D.C.
Chris Medland
While studying Sports Journalism at the University of Central Lancashire, Chris managed to talk his way into working at the British Grand Prix in 2008 and was retained for three years before joining ESPN F1 as Assistant Editor. After three further years at ESPN, a spell as F1 Editor at Crash Media Group was followed by the major task of launching F1i.com’s English-language website and running it as Editor. Present at every race since the start of 2014, he has continued building his freelance portfolio, working with international titles. As well as writing for RACER, his broadcast work includes television appearances on F1 TV and as a presenter and reporter on North America's live radio coverage on SiriusXM.
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