Richard hoped to replace the role of CVC Investment Company and partner with Bernie Ecclestone to buy shares of SLEC. Of course, even if he decided to proceed with the deal, he had no intention of becoming an enemy of the three major banks circling SLEC.
He believed that Bernie had already been in contact with CVC Investment Company, and he knew it wasn't only them. The fact that Bernie also wanted to involve him showed that the old man's shrewdness as a businessman was already at work.
In the real timeline, other bidders had also offered competitive prices. In the end, only CVC succeeded.
Why?
One case that would later shake the UK occurred in 2013, when Bernie Ecclestone was prosecuted by a German court on charges that he had bribed banker Gribkowski, who handled F1 equity transactions, with $44 million between 2004 and 2005. The bribe had allegedly helped CVC buy SLEC shares at a low price, causing the three banks to suffer huge losses.
