F1 moves closer to new Concorde agreement

BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Formula One moved closer to a long-awaited new commercial agreement on Saturday after rights holders and the governing FIA said they said signed a preliminary document setting out the final steps.

"The Formula One Group and the FIA have signed an agreement setting out the framework for implementation of the 2013 Concorde Agreement," a joint statement said.

"This agreement will come into force upon approval by the respective governing bodies with the signatory parties in the coming weeks."

The confidential 'Concorde Agreement', which expired at the end of last year, sets out the commercial side of the sport including the distribution of revenues and is a key element of any future flotation of Formula One.

Private equity firm CVC owns around 35 percent of Formula One with U.S. investment groups BlackRock and Waddell & Reed, as well as Norway's Norges Bank Investment Management also buying into the business.

Bernie Ecclestone, the 82-year-old Briton who runs the sport's commercial side for CVC, has talked of floating Formula One in Singapore at the end of this year.

(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Amlan Chakraborty)