The Alpine Ski World Cup has developed into a million-dollar business in recent years. This attracted investors – and apparently triggered a remarkable power struggle behind the scenes.
As the “Süddeutsche Zeitung” reports, among others, a number of top stars in the ski circus are currently resisting the course of FIS boss Johan Eliasch. The controversial head of the association is said to have recently rejected an offer worth millions from the financial industry.
Instead, the Swede continues to pursue his own approach to marketing, which the German Ski Association, for example, is taking legal action against.
According to the report, the private equity firm CVC recently wanted to give FIS a hefty financial injection. CVC is said to have offered around 400 million euros to take over 20 percent of a newly created subsidiary.
The goal: The joint and central marketing of media and sponsorship rights. According to “SZ”, Eliasch rejected the offer in an email to CVC on December 2nd. As a result, the FIS boss probably found himself in need of explanation, because many athletes see the offer as a great opportunity.
CVC also wanted to get into the Bundesliga
There was resistance across the entire skiing cosmos. The FIS Council is said to have asked the official to resume negotiations with CVC.
Around three dozen athletes signed an incendiary letter to Eliasch. Among them are the superstars Mikaela Shiffrin and Marco Odermatt, but also figureheads such as Lara Gut-Behrami, Federica Brignone, Sofia Goggia, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and the German slalom rider Linus Straßer.
In the spring, CVC also wanted to become an investor in the Bundesliga. After massive fan protests, the DFL reversed its plans.
As a private equity company, CVC wants to actively influence the economic processes of the projects. The goal is to maximize income and thus increase the value of your investment.
With such a strategy, the distributions to the teams in Formula 1 were quadrupled from 2006 to 2017, claims CVC.