[GTRMagic]

Originally Posted by street talk, AFR Jan 9 2017 at 12:15 AM, Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald, Joyce Moullakis

New name drives into V8s; board yet to push button on sale

It's a big year for Archer Capital-backed V8 Supercars.

Archer bought its 60 per cent stake in May 2011 and has put plenty of thought into running the motorsport business, and its eventual exit.

The V8s board now has to decide whether to push ahead with a sale process, following a round of talks with interested parties.

The matter is said to be on the board's radar, although no decision has been made to formalise talks or mandate a bank to run an auction.

Interesting, one of the parties hovering around the hoop is understood to be businessman Bart Campbell.

Campbell is well known in the sports entertainment industry globally and is a co-owner and chairman of local rugby league club Melbourne Storm.

He also founded UK-listed TLA Worldwide, which is a sports marketing and management company focused on major league baseball.

While V8s would be a big step up for Campbell - remember Archer's investment six years ago valued V8s at $300 million - it's indicative of the type of buyer the franchise rights owner could attract.

Other interested parties are said to include broadcasters, rival sports entertainment companies and private equity firms.

While Archer has a controlling stake at V8s, other investors include touring car team owners and current and former management.

Deliberations around the potential exit come as V8 Supercars enters the third year of a six-year media rights deal with Ten Network Holdings and Fox Sports. The pair paid a combined $241 million for the rights, which sees Ten show the six most popular races.

The 2017 V8s season starts in Adelaide in March.

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