Open Wheel Racing Series To Acquire Championship Auto Racing Teams

[f1manoz]

The European rounds may be axed in the short-term simply because of cost, but once CART starts to recover, we may see the European swing return. There is no doubting the popularity of the series, particularly in places like Germany...

[muggle not]

Originally posted by Jay
I'd love to see Cart and ALMS teamup at Laguna Seca - why wouldn't anyone with a car go to that?

I would love to see CART and Trans Am run at Laguna Seca as it is my favorite track. However, I am afraid that Laguna, Mid-ohio, PIR, and probably Road America may not be on the schedule along with cutting out Europe. Look for the street courses to be the mainstay next year.

I anticipate that Trans Am will be participating in maybe 9 of the CART venues next year. In addition to the CART venues I believe that TA will also be racing at the 2 Canadian tracks and possibly Lime Rock.

As far as Gentilozzi goes, he loves racing but don't look for him to throw his money away. He is in the business to make it profitable.

[Flatspot]

Originally posted by muggle not
However, I am afraid that Laguna, Mid-ohio, PIR, and probably Road America may not be on the schedule along with cutting out Europe.

I really hope that you missed this call. If C^RT cuts out all of the road courses, particularly sinces they are the classic race courses, it will be another step in major mis-management of the series.

[macdaddy]

Does anybody know for sure that this year will mark the end of the Fontana contract? We always thought so, but remember a few months ago when an article came up, quoting Fontana's management that the CART contract expired after 2004? Personally, I'll miss that track more than any other on the current schedule.

[Flatspot]

macdaddy, The contract for Fontana ends in '04. I can't tell you why everyone has the idea that this is the last race there. I beleive they have at least one more after this year.

[macdaddy]

[muggle not]

Originally posted by Flatspot
I really hope that you missed this call. If C^RT cuts out all of the road courses, particularly sinces they are the classic race courses, it will be another step in major mis-management of the series.

I hope that I am wrong also as I love the road tracks over the street courses. Laguna Seca and Road America are what road racing is all about.

[climb]

Originally posted by GP Racer
...
I guess myself(and Climb I think) were expecting some new and innovative thinking from these new owners, that's all.
...

Absolutely with you, GP Racer

[Liz]

Maybe after they get the deal finalized and find out what they have to work with, they will begin thinking of how they want CART to look. Most of us don't begin redecorating our house when it is on fire.

[climb]

Yes Liz, but if we buy that piece of land, we normally have already made up our mind about what to do with that, particularly if it cost us some mllions $.

[Jaun]

Laguna Seca, won't be dropped its a classic, be crazy plus its a great track to watch the races on sure they know that management that is.

[gttouring]

well now look at this news- from Autoweek.com (oddly updated daily)
16:59 Sep. 17, 2003)
CART deal done but not guaranteed


The CART deal is done. Sort of. What remains is an SEC sign-off and, sometime within 60 days or so, the ultimate vote by shareholders. If a majority of CART’s stockholders approve, the series/sanctioning body could again be a private company controlled by race team owners.
As reported here before the fact, CART’s board of directors has accepted a buyout offer from Open Wheel Racing Series LLC, the company recently formed by CART team owners Gerald Forsythe, Paul Gentilozzi and Kevin Kalkhoven, and Toyota Atlantic team owner Carl Russo, to acquire CART. The final accepted price was up six cents from OWRS’ original offer of 50 cents per share.

While the acceptance went essentially as expected, the official statement announcing the deal had a couple of mild surprises. For the first time, OWRS committed to the format that has been CART’s signature (and to many its primary appeal) for more than two decades. A statement attributed to Kalkhoven and Gentilozzi reads:

“[CART] has millions of people who come to the races and OWRS intends to fulfill its commitment to these fans by keeping [CART] in its current format of ovals, road races and street courses. It is our intention that CART will be the premier open wheel racing series of the Americas. We will also take the opportunity of continuing successful overseas programs such as Surfers Paradise in Australia.”

Under the agreement, CART retains the right to accept a better buyout offer from another entity. In that case, however, OWRS “is entitled to receive a termination fee of $350,000.” Further, OWRS can terminate the buyout agreement for any reason through Sept. 18. Beyond that, the deal is governed by what might be called “the Vannini clause.”

Lines drawn
Apparently in anticipation of a challenge from activist stockholder Jon Vannini (AW, Sept. 15), Open Wheel Racing Series LLC’s offer to buy CART includes several conditions that allow OWRS to bail out. One is a bankruptcy filing on CART’s part. Another is “pending or threatened suits advancing non-frivolous claims that OWRS reasonably believes would not be covered by (CART’s) insurance policies or that seek to prevent consummation of the merger.”

That condition could be aimed directly at Vannini—an investor, securities manager and former Barber Dodge Pro Series competitor with a history of trying to influence companies in which he buys stock with legal threats, lawsuits and proxy fights. Vannini remains one of CART’s largest shareholders, and he has watched his original investment of some $15 million tumble in value to a few hundred thousand as CART’s share price has tanked.

Vannini has chosen not to speak with AutoWeek, but it’s clear that since the course of the proposed buyout became clear, CART management has been anticipating a lawsuit from the investor. Vannini has not made his intentions clear. Any action on his part might try to recoup his original investment or give Vannini some active role in CART’s future. The California resident has publicly said, “In my judgment, this buyout proposal is pure fantasy. I simply don’t see the majority of shareholders voting in favor of this deal. I know I certainly won’t. What’s more, it seems highly unlikely to me that all, or even most, of the conditions that they [OWRS] have placed on this deal will be met.”

What’s also clear is that Vannini and OWRS, embodied by team owners Forsythe, Gentilozzi and Kalkhoven, are no longer talking, and indications suggest OWRS has no intention of settling with Vannini.

Under CART’s acceptance of OWRS’ buyout offer, any hostile action on Vannini’s part is reason enough to kill the deal, and could, finally, bury CART.

i don't like how much power Vannini is ultimatley in posses of, he sounds like a slimy money grubber, who might ruin everything, especially if Tony George wants to pay him to do so

[indycool]

TG doesn't need to pay him to do so. He's a shark in the financial world. According to Mark C., he's won a couple of these. Corporations have liability insurance on their BoDs and management for situations like this. If Vannini can prove malfeasance of some kind, he'll likely recoup some of his investment from the insurance carrier. That's where the bigger money will come in. MPH has the added entity of shareholder to the others of fans, sponsors, tracks, owners, drivers, teams and TV viewers who must "win" in any deal -- a pretty important entity in this context, it would seem.

[Liz]

Send Vanini a horse's head. (Or the moral equivalent thereof.) I'm sure Gentilozzi knows how to reason with such as he.

Incidentally, tomorrow is the "drop dead" date. Fingers crossed.

climb, unfortunately that piece of land they are buying has a burning house on it. (That is, we aren't talking about unimproved potential here, we are talking about something that's already built and in financial difficulty among other problems.) They may know exactly what they want to do with it, but first they have to put out the fire and then see what they have left to work with.

[macdaddy]

I still wonder what happened last Thursday, when over 2 million shares changed hands. Perhaps Vannini was given a sweetheart deal, and sold his stake?

[dirtfan]

Ask flatspot, I don't think private deals show up on the stock exchange. Maybe he had some sort of side deal for something else to boot. From what I've read on other sites, he's some sort of financial shark (other's opinions, not mine).

[dirtfan]

Oops- too many pronouns. Sorry flatspot; I meant Vannini wanted lagniappe and is known as a shark!

[indycool]

Could be macdaddy, but my guess for the unload is Fidelity, a mutual fund, which had bought 3 million shares at around $3 a share.

[Flatspot]

I'm not certain but quite sure the big trade is Forsythe contributing his shares to OWRS. If you care to bore yourselves with dry reading look here.SEC Filing

[indycool]

Flatspot, don't think it is because the stuff was traded at different times in different blocks and affected share price. This SEC filing says the Forsythe's whole ball game was transferred to OWRS. Still think it was others wheeling and dealing last week.

[macdaddy]

I think indycool's right about Forsythe's "whole ball game". To my knowledge, there were two major transactions made on that day, nary an hour apart.

[Flatspot]

You guy's may be entirely correct...and probably are.

[climb]

Liz, of course it may be as you guess, simply Gp Racer and I were pointing out that it doesn't appear at all in the first official statements of OWRS, just it.

And , in any case, what you say, about the fire, supports what we said, i.e. that nobody can leave out of consideration the economic implications of such deals.
Passion is not enough when you have big contracts to honor, and such reflections have to be made in advance; if they don't do that, the risk of heavy strategic errors (like those made by previous CART top managers) are very likely to occur.

[Liz]

True. You have to consider everything when making a big change. Fortunately we have passed the first drop dead date and the deal still lives."

[macdaddy]

This from Autosport...


Another crucial step in Open Wheel Racing Series' attempt to acquire CART is set to unfold in the next seven to 10 days, according to Paul Gentilozzi.

Gentilozzi said Saturday (Sept27) at Miami that the proxy statement being drafted by OWRS to send to CART shareholders is in its final stage of approval. OWRS has offered 56 cents (31p) per outstanding share of stock.

"We have the final draft and within a week or so we'll send that proxy statement to the Securities and Exchange Commission for their review," Gentilozzi revealed. "That could take a week or it could take a month because they are a governmental entity. Then that package, in its entirety, goes to the stockholders for review and approval.

"That will include all of the disclosure of the company's current status and year-end projection. In it are also two ‘fairness opinions' from Ernst & Young and Bear Stearns that are independent companies paid to give their view of the value of the stock."

Gentilozzi added that the stockholder vote could come as early as Halloween and as late as Thanksgiving. The vote will come in two stages – to enable and to approve the deal. In the second vote, the 22.9 percent of CART shares owned by OWRS through partner Gerald Forsythe will be removed from the equation.

"For the second vote, we're not going to vote Gerry's shares so it doesn't appear in any way that there is a thumb on the scale trying to make this deal happen," Gentilozzi said.