Liberty said it would keep Bernie Ecclestone, who has long controlled the racing group, as Formula One chief executive, but also named Chase Carey, the vice chairman of 21st Century Fox, as the company’s new chairman.
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The two-step acquisition will merge Formula One, via the target’s Delta Topco parent company, with Liberty’s Liberty Media Group (LMCK) live event division, ultimately giving Formula One’s current owners 65% of the enlarged Liberty Media Group.
Liberty Media, which is owned by American media mogul John Malone, and its sister companies have interests that span from baseball’s Atlanta Braves to Virgin Media, and Malone owns shares in ITV, Eurosport and Formula E.
Bernie Ecclestone, a long-term figure of authority in F1, is set to remain as chief executive officer.
According to a statement released by Liberty Media, the acquisition of an 18.7 percent minority stake has already been completed for $746 million. Bernie Ecclestone will remain Formula One’s CEO, and the organization will remain based in London.
Formula One has hundreds of millions of fans, and Carey said in a statement that he sees opportunity to develop it. In an interview, Ecclestone said he is optimistic Liberty has the resources, expertise and outlook to drive the growth of F1 – particularly in the United States. But CVC, which first invested in F1 in 2005, is ceding control of the sport to Malone’s Liberty, which has all the voting shares.
However Liberty Media says it will actively engage with the teams by offering them the chance to become stakeholders, with some having already expressed an interest.
For Mr. Malone, the Formula One deal adds to a flurry of recent deal-making. Malone also controls European telecom company Liberty Global and has investments in US cable company Charter, which recently bought Time Warner Cable, and various cable-TV companies.
“They have asked me to hang on and not go to Singapore”, Ecclestone said by telephone. “There’s lots of new things we are going to have to start putting into place, bringing them up to speed”. ‘I will continue to do all the things I have previously done, such as negotiate with the circuits, television companies and people like that.
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CVC is F1’s biggest shareholder with a 35.5 percent stake, followed by US fund manager Waddell & Reed with just over 20 percent.
