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Speculation has swirled in the past week that the Shahins have bought or are in the process of buying Supercars, but how realistic is that proposition?
The genesis of the rumour seems to have been a segment on Triple M Adelaide’s breakfast show on August 9, and the word of an anonymous caller.
“A prominent Adelaide business family are looking to, and, I believe, have secured a deal, to buy the V8 Supercars,” claimed ‘Anonymous’, whose voice was disguised.
The deal was said to be for Supercars in its entirety, as opposed to a single event, although it is worth noting that the majority of events on the calendar (eight out of 12) are directly promoted by the championship anyway.
Both South Australian events are, however, exceptions, with the Adelaide 500 promoted by the recently re-established South Australia Motor Sport Board, and The Bend’s by what could reasonably be described as “a prominent Adelaide business family.”
That is, The Bend is owned by the Shahins’ Peregrine Corporation and self-promotes the OTR SuperSprint.
Clearly, the Shahins are heavily invested in motorsport, and they were indeed bidders (through Peregrine) before Archer Capital (and the teams) ultimately sold Supercars to the RACE (Racing Australia Consolidated Enterprises Ltd) consortium in late-2021.
Now, however, rumours of a second bid for the championship have gathered momentum.
The Triple M tip was followed up in other local media and then by a national news outlet which billed its story as an ‘exclusive’ despite being published three days after the radio segment went to air with its hardly subtle reference to the Shahins, who were even named by co-host Mark Ricciuto.
However, based on Speedcafe’s extensive enquiries, there is little substance to the story, if any.
RACE Chairman and majority owner Barclay Nettlefold, according to multiple heavy-hitters within the industry, has dismissed the prospect outright, and there is also said from within investment advisory firm Henslow to be nothing to it.
Henslow is an investor in RACE and one of its own Directors, Stephen Macaw, is on the RACE board.
Furthermore, team bosses queried on the matter by Speedcafe claim no knowledge of a Shahin bid.
That is of significance due, firstly, to a suggestion that the Teams Racing Charter may contain the obligation for them to at least be consulted before the business is sold.
It has also been pointed out to Speedcafe that the Shahins would conduct due diligence on such a large transaction, noting that almost two years has passed since the sale from Archer to RACE was announced in October 2021, and hence its last due diligence is at least that old.
Such a process would involve consulting with teams on the state of Supercars as a business, but it seems none have heard from the Shahins, at least on that front, of late.
“They’d have to talk to the teams, they’d have to talk to the governments, they’d have to talk to everyone there are contracts with and everything, so it would be impossible for it to be sold without a wider audience knowing about it,” according to one source.
Peregrine Executive Director Sam Shahin might be able to get away without conducting thorough due diligence given his involvement in the sport but, on the other hand, his ability to accumulate wealth is because he is such a professional, thorough operator, it has been reasoned.
Furthermore, while it was noted in one of the aforementioned reports that the Shahins “recently sold the OTR brand to Viva Energy for $1.2 billion,” that deal is subject to ACCC (Australian Competition and Consumer Commission) approval.
Viva is offering to sell 23 of its 32 service stations in Adelaide, reported The Australian on July 7, in order to appease the concerns of the ACCC, which was accepting submissions until July 20 and has set a provisional date of September 21 for the announcement of its findings.
Even then, the announcement of findings may only be the release of a ‘Statement of Issues’ rather than a final decision on the acquisition.
The theory, then, that they are buying Supercars because they are cashed-up from that sale is premature.
Meanwhile, it is thought that RACE has sought fresh investment relatively recently, and it is understood that Jure Domazet, the Canberra-based property developer who sits on the RACE board, increased his shareholding sometime in the past six to 12 months.
Considering Peregrine is thought to have been one of the lower bidders for Supercars last time around, one has to wonder why it would be opening up the purse strings now.
While a full buy-out appears highly unlikely, at least for the foreseeable future, there is a certain logic to a substantial buy-in.
The Shahins are passionate about motorsport, including their “little race track that’s just near Murray Bridge,” as Triple M’s Chris Dittmar jocularly described the facility which was built at a cost of $100 million.
One theory is that they could be looking to buy a large enough stake such that they have the right to board representation, and hence are in a position to ensure The Bend stays on the Supercars calendar.
Whether that would be more cost-effective in the long run than simply paying Supercars each year to come is unclear, but it is an asset which could be sold in future rather than a series of sunk costs.
Notwithstanding that McMellan’s departure left no Australian Racing Group-aligned figures on the board, Barry Rogers, who owns a 75 percent stake in ARG and 15 percent in RACE, reaffirmed his commitment to the latter when queried on the subject by Speedcafe.
It is not inconceivable, though, that Rogers may have had a change of heart in the six months since then.
Finally, it is worth noting that The Bend so happens to be hosting Supercars this weekend.
Two related theories on the rumoured sale are that it is a publicity stunt and/or that an off-the-cuff remark to a journalist’s question at a function grew legs.
Sam Shahin could not be reached when contacted today by Speedcafe, nor could Barry Rogers.
