A large private equity firm has expressed its interest in investing in elite skiing. The international skiing federation FIS is considering further measures.
FIS rejected the EUR 400 million offer.
I saw a Swiss magazine Blick headlined his news on December 7. On the same day, Sakalaislehti wrote about the same theme Süddeutsche Zeitung.
In a nutshell, it’s the following: the international capital investment company CVC Capital Partners has approached the International Ski Federation FIS and expressed its desire to invest 400 million euros in the activities of the umbrella organization.
This is evident from a letter obtained by Blick, which the private equity firm sent to FIS from its London office on November 30, 2024.
The letter titled Project snow is addressed to the FIS chairman For Johan Eliasch and Secretary General To Michel Vionfor FIS board members and national ski associations.
In its letter, CVC proposes that it would invest 400 million euros and receive 20 percent of FIS’s sales and marketing rights in return. CVC estimates their total value to be two billion euros.
The Swiss newspaper also has a response letter from FIS, in which the umbrella organization politely refuses. In addition, FIS states that its funding is on a stable basis, even though its recent financial statements have been weak.
The ruckus is ready
The approach of an external investment company has been talked about in skiing circles all week.
More than 50 skiing influencers signed a letter appealing to the FIS leadership to reconsider the offer.
The critics included, among others, three well-known alpine stars, an American Mikaela ShiffrinSwiss Marco Odermatt and Norwegian Henrik Kristoffersen.
The FIS board was also not unanimously in favor of the refusal. One of the board members is American Dexter PaineSwedish Karin MattssonNorwegian Tove DyrhaugGerman Franz Steinle and Austrian Michael Huber publicly expressed their dissenting opinion.
On Saturday, Urheilu caught up with a Finnish member of the FIS board Martti Uusitalowho did not want to comment on the results in more detail.
However, Uusitalo said that FIS is considering further measures. He described the venture capital company’s contact as an interesting opening, but did not consider it to have made an official offer.
– The issue will be discussed next week. Basically, it wasn’t about any offer, but rather an expression of interest, Uusitalo said.
According to Urheilu’s information, CVC approached FIS in terms of investment already at the beginning of Eliasch’s tenure. Eliasch has been the president of FIS since summer 2021. Uusitalo, acting as vice president of the association, refused to comment on the matter.
– Of course we will evaluate the matter, whether it is CVC or some other entity. The matter is still on the table.
– It’s good that there is interest. But there is still a long way to go.
A broad entity
During Eliasch’s presidency, the number one topic of skiing politics has been the media and marketing agreement regarding the World Cup Games.
Uusitalo emphasized that the 400 million euro investment proposal that is now on the table is a much broader entity than the long-term topic. It would include not only the World Cup but also FIS’s other activities such as the World Championships, which are the umbrella organization’s main source of income.
– If we’re talking about the rights to the Alpine Skiing World Championships – their value would be, say, 100 or 80 million – if you sell them at 20 percent and put a multiplier on them for 40 years, you’ll suddenly realize that it (400 million) isn’t such a terribly big sum.
Uusitalo reminded of the fundamental differences when it comes to the organizational activities and capital investment owned by sports federations.
– The task of FIS is to ensure that prize money and the appreciation of athletes’ work can be increased. These are big, big solutions if we start some kind of cooperation with such a capital investor.
– Capital investors always have some kind of exit plan. They don’t buy items to own forever. It is important to know what that plan could be, so that the rights do not end up with such entities – or in such a space – that could be harmful to our species, says Uusitalo.
He stressed that in selling capital, FIS rules require broad approval by the supreme decision-making Congress. The next FIS congress is not scheduled until the summer of 2026, but if necessary, it is possible to call an additional congress earlier.