BlackRock and two other investors bought about a 20% stake in Formula One Group for $1.6bn ahead of its planned $2.5bn initial public offering in Singapore, a person familiar with the situation said on Tuesday.

The investors, which also comprised asset manager Waddell & Reed Financial and Norway's sovereign-wealth fund Norges Bank Investment Management, bought the stake from private-equity firm CVC Capital Partners, bringing CVC's stake down to about 40% from 63.4%, the person said.