NeXovation, Inc. Secures ECJ Win And A New Investigation From The European Commission Into The Bidding Process For The Nürburgring, Confirms Its Commitment To Pursue The Nürburgring

September 2, 2021

NeXovation, Inc. has secured a crucial victory in its battle to prove that the bidding process for the Nürburgring was illegitimate.  Today, the European Court of Justice ruled that the European Commission erred in its 2014 ruling that the sale of the Nürburgring assets to the Capricorn Group was legal.  

As a result, the European Commission must now re-examine whether the 2014 sale of the Nürburgring was below market price and thus involved the granting of State Aid.

After attempts at private financing failed, the state government of Rhineland-Palatinate made intensive efforts to turn the state-owned racetrack into a modern leisure park. This drew the attention of the European Commission. Following complaints in 2012, the EC initiated a formal investigation. In October 2014, it ruled that illegal State Aid had been granted and demanded the repayment of this aid. At the same time, however, it concluded that the meanwhile sale of the Nürburgring assets to the private Capricorn Group had been in line with State Aid law principles. It could not find that the bidding process had been flawed. Since the bidding process had been compliant, the European Commission concluded that the sale had taken place at the market price and therefore did not contain any aid in favor of the purchaser. 

NeXovation, which had participated in the bidding process as the highest bidder and which was one of the three bidders admitted to a second round of bidding by KPMG and the trustees, had a different perspective. In June 2015, the company filed an action against the European Commission's decision before the General Court of the European Union. 

Proceedings were also brought by the “Ja zum Nürburgring” (Yes to Nürburgring) initiative, which now publicly admits it did so to seek to block NeXovation, Inc.’s receipt of the bid award by default by litigating in a parallel action.  Sexton says NeXovation has reached out to Ja zum Nürburgring and is confident that their interests are ultimately parallel, in that both parties seek to save the ‘Ring.

The proceedings lasted four years, making them one of the longest of such actions in recent times. The General Court confirmed the Commission's decision in June 2019.  NeXovation, which was determined to prove the merits of its arguments, then appealed, and the decision issued today by the Court of Justice (C-665/19 P) marks the successful satisfaction of that appeal. 

The European Commission must now investigate the sales process in the new light of a finding of fact in the highest court in the European Union that the financing of Capricorn was not binding and therefore, that the bidding process, and possibly the subsequent sale of the assets of the Nürburgring was inappropriate.

NeXovation CEO, Caroline Sexton, who leads the company after the death of her late husband, Robert J. Sexton in 2018, remains steadfast in her commitment to securing the Nürburgring.  In her own words, which were embedded into NeXovation’s final offer during the bidding process, she stated:

“We are especially committed to maintaining public access to the race tracks and all facilities of Nürburgring, from the tourist tours on the Nordschleife and the Grand Prix Track, the traditional racing events such as the 24 Hours Race and the DTM, to concerts and several restaurants and hotels. We know that the (then, 2014) current users and partners of Nürburgring are also key for the future success of Nürburgring so that they are a substantial part of our planning.”

During the bidding process, NeXovation submitted a detailed and robust business plan vetted by Ernst & Young and spent significant sums on due diligence during the bidding process, indicating that the Americans took the business and future of the Nürburgring seriously.  Despite binding financial commitments and an actual plan for what to do with the Nürburgring that would allow for a satisfactory outcome for all public and private stakeholders, employees, and the community, the bid was called early in favor of Capricorn, whom the EU Court of Justice found did not have binding financing from Deutsche Bank, as was claimed during the bidding process. 

"The European Commission must now revisit the lack of fairness, the lack of openness and the discriminatory nature of the bidding process with new eyes”, Sexton added.

Says Sexton, “We will not quit - the fight for the ‘Ring is only beginning” and maintains that NeXovation remains steadfast in its pursuit to attain and protect the Nürburgring. 

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