NASCAR to pay $2 billion in acquisition of International Speedway Corp.
NASCAR’s move for full ownership of International Speedway Corporation is going ahead.
NASCAR and ISC announced Wednesday that the stock car series’ offer of $45 a share to ISC stockholders had been officially approved. NASCAR initially offered $42 a share when it said it wanted to absorb ISC In November and a class-action lawsuit was filed in December.
The announcement of the new share price means the lawsuit will now be dropped.
International Speedway Corporation was a publicly owned track company founded by NASCAR founder Bill France Sr., and the France family has retained controlling interest in the company.
Former NASCAR CEO Brian France may not be a part of NASCAR’s takeover, however. France has been on the sidelines ever since he was arrested for DUI in New York in August. His uncle, Jim France, is currently the CEO of the series.
A filing from NASCAR and ISC makes it appear that France won’t have any ownership stake after the merger.
These paragraphs in an ISC filing indicate that Brian France will be bought out of his shares ... pic.twitter.com/BtsnZEnSVg
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) May 22, 2019
In the move to take ISC private and under the NASCAR umbrella, the France Family and any others who have ownership stakes in NASCAR will be the owners of ISC. Per the announcement, the deal is expected to be complete sometime in 2019.
NASCAR’s move to buy ISC could be a step toward a radical overhaul of its racing schedule. Or it may not be. By controlling many of the tracks that NASCAR currently races at, the series would have the ability to more easily move races from track to track without having to answer to shareholders.
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Nick Bromberg is a writer for Yahoo Sports.
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