The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) is now attempting to defend itself against criticism from claims that it has turned down a lucrative investment offer from private equity firm CVC Capital Partners.

Last week, the FIS received a letter signed by a range of FIS Council members, national ski association representatives, and high-profile athletes. The letter - which was leaked to the media - contained an accusation that FIS had rejected an offer from CVC for sets of media rights to various ski and snowboard competitions, due to the ongoing centralization process of media rights which the Infront agency is involved in. FIS has now said that this claim is false, and indeed that the CVC proposal has not been rejected outright.

The offer from CVC was reportedly worth €400 million ($421 million), and would have seen that investment firm take a 20% stake in the federation’s commercial rights.

Now, however, the Switzerland-based FIS has claimed that the CVC proposal was actually unrelated to the centralization process for media and broadcast rights, and that it was instead a proposal for the creation of a joint venture vehicle. This vehicle, if the deal had gone through, would have managed “all commercial rights associated with FIS and its member federations,” FIS claimed.

The body has also stated that such a deal would not have conflicted with the process between FIS and Infront.

FIS has looked to play down suggestions that the offering was rejected, instead claiming that it “does not require additional funding to executive its strategic plan,” and that if raising extra funding was necessary, it would engage a financial advisory firm “to conduct a transparent process.”

It has also alleged that CVC’s submission did not include details such as valuation, strategic plans, and governance frameworks - and that it did not include an increase in prize money, as some media sources have reported.

A meeting between Johan Eliasch (FIS president) and CVC representatives yesterday (December 9) saw CVC confirm it had not assessed FIS’ “strategic plan or financial structure” - or so the sporting body has stated.

In terms of its wide range of sporting investments, CVC currently has deals in place with properties including Spanish men’s soccer’s LaLiga, England’s Premiership Rugby, and the Women’s Tennis Association.

It has been reported that the letter expressing unhappiness with FIS’ perceived rejection of the CVC proposal was signed by over 50 stakeholders, and that these critics believe the submission would have addressed serious financial issues within the world of snow sports.

The exclusive FIS-Infront deal, meanwhile, was approved by the FIS Council in April. The issue of centralization was a core part of Johan Eliasch’s presidency when he was re-elected for a full four-year term in 2022.

The parties agreed terms to centralize the international distribution of FIS World Cup broadcast rights through an eight-season deal which ended a long-running dispute (that had threatened to spill into the Swiss courts).

However, this deal left some leading ski associations blindsided by the council vote, with reports at the time that various European national federations were exploring legal action.