By Jerry Jordan, Editor
AVONDALE, Ariz. – In a surprising announcement, NASCAR has announced Friday that it has made an offer to purchase the outstanding of International Speedway Corporation and take the combined companies private.
A press release sent out just after 4 p.m. EST, the sanctioning body stated, “NASCAR today announced that it has submitted a non-binding offer to acquire all outstanding shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock of International Speedway Corporation (ISC) not already owned by the controlling shareholders of NASCAR. The intention is to combine ISC and NASCAR as one privately run group of companies led by the France family.”
The stock price for ISC closed down 44-cents at $39.06 per share – one minute before the announcement of NASCAR’s intention was made. The offer from NASCAR, according to ISC was to buy the outstanding stock at a price of $42.00 per share. According to Bloomberg, the offer is worth $1.9 billion.
NASCAR Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jim France, said the overall health of the sport will be benefitted by the acquisition.
“In a highly competitive sports and entertainment landscape, a more unified strategic approach is important to our future growth,” France said. “We believe the industry requires structural changes to best position the sport for long-term success and this offer represents a positive step forward in that direction.”
Earlier this year, there was a rumor that NASCAR was for sale but many questioned what the benefit of buying the sanctioning body would be without hard assets that were held by ISC. Some have already speculated this acquisition would be a way to boost the overall value of the sport for potential sponsors and, possibly, any future buyers.
The offer will be reviewed by an independent group representing of legal advisors and non-France family stockholders.
“NASCAR has retained Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC as its financial advisor and Baker Botts as its legal counsel in connection with the negotiation and consummation of a mutually acceptable transaction, and BDT & Company is serving as financial advisor to the France family,” the release states. “NASCAR’s offer will be reviewed by a special committee of independent ISC board members advised by independent legal and financial advisors. In the interim, NASCAR and ISC will continue to operate separate as independent entities working to deliver great racing experiences to our fans everywhere.
“The outcome of this prospective offer will not impact the France family’s long-term commitment to the sport, nor its interest in maintaining its current ownership in ISC, as the France family is not interested in selling its shares of ISC at this time.”
A release from ISC stated, “The Company cautions shareholders and others considering trading in its securities that the Board just received the non-binding proposal letter from NASCAR and no decisions have been made with respect to the Company’s response to the proposal. There can be no assurance that any definitive offer will be made, that any agreement will be executed or that this or any other transaction will be approved or consummated.”
When asked about what this means for the sport, seven-time champion Jimmie Johnson, said he believes it could be a good thing and “lead to flexibility for the schedule and events dates. I think that unity and that collaboration and those two entities combined would be a step in the right direction for that.”
ISC currently owns 12 tracks used in the NASCAR Cup Series – Daytona International Speedway, ISM Raceway (formerly Phoenix International Raceway), Auto Club Speedway, Martinsville Speedway, Talladega Superspeedway, Michigan International Speedway, Kansas Speedway, Chicagoland Speedway, Homestead-Miami Speedway, Darlington Raceway, Watkins Glen International, Richmond Raceway. It also owns Route 66 Speedway near Chicago but it is not used for NASCAR Cup Series races.
NASCAR owns Road Atlanta and Iowa Speedway ,which are both utilized by the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Other tracks on the NASCAR circuit are owned by Speedway Motorsports Inc. (SMI), the Igdalsky family and Dover Motorsports.
Representatives of SMI declined to comment on the news at this time.