The threat of bad weather in the world of skiing. The cause is the decision of the International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) to reject an offer from the investment fund CVC Capital Partners to inject the tidy sum of 400 million euros in exchange for a 20% stake in the commercial rights of the competitions. The body chaired by Johan Eliasch, who is also a candidate for the presidency of the IOC, did not wish to follow up on the proposal, considering that it was " very well capitalized and had no need for additional financing to help it implement its strategic plans." The story should have ended there and the case filed away. But a group of about sixty athletes, executives and managers wrote to the FIS this week to ask it to reconsider its position. The list of signatories includes Olympic medalists in alpine skiing Mikaela Shiffrin, Lara Gut-Behrami, Marco Odermatt, Aleksander Aamodt Kilde and Sofia Goggia, Olympic slopestyle champion Alex Hall, and snowboarder Maddie Mastro. "We do not agree that many of the tasks outlined in the CVC proposal have been accomplished within the framework of the FIS overall strategy, write the signatories. While there have been improvements in digital, there has been a notable lack of progress in most areas of business, marketing and product development that are critical to the growth of our sports.. » As expected, the body did not remain without a response to the skiers' revolt, but also to many German, Norwegian, Swiss and Austrian executives and officials. It responded to their letter with a press release dated Tuesday, December 10, in which it explained that CVC's offer did not concern media and broadcasting rights, as the opponents maintain. It proposed an investment for the creation of a joint venture responsible for managing all commercial rights associated with the FIS and its member federations. "Should fundraising prove necessary, FIS would engage a financial advisor to conduct a transparent process, ensuring the best possible conditions", adds FIS.
