Waddell & Reed lift F1 stake in $500 mln deal

LONDON, June 16 (Reuters) - U.S. asset management company Waddell & Reed has increased its stake in the Formula One motor racing business to 20.9 percent in a $500 million deal, CVC Capital Partners said.

Formula One, in which CVC is the largest shareholder, had been exploring a flotation in Singapore but put plans on hold two weeks ago because of market volatility.

"CVC Capital Partners is pleased to announce that several funds managed by Waddell & Reed Investment Management Company and Ivy Investment Management Company have today agreed to invest a further $500m in a private placement in Formula 1 at $9.1bn enterprise value, increasing their aggregate stake to 20.9 percent," CVC said in a statement on its website.

CVC had cut its stake in Formula One to 42 percent from 63 percent in a $1.6 billion deal announced in May with Waddell & Reed, BlackRock and Norway's Norges Bank Investment Management.