Chase Carey has been appointed to the position after Liberty Media announced on Wednesday that it had agreed a deal to acquire F1 in a move worth 4.4billion US Dollars (£3.3bn). The transaction will also see Liberty Media assume $4.1bn of Formula 1’s debt, with the transaction valued at $8bn in total.
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At the beginning of 2016, meanwhile, Ecclestone stated that F1 was “the worst it’s ever been” after two years of Mercedes dominance.
“As motor sport’s governing body and regulator we acknowledge Liberty Media’s wide expertise in these fields and we look forward to working in close partnership with them in the future in order to further develop Formula One and bring it to new generations of motor sport enthusiasts around the world”.
Ecclestone has been the deal-maker, securing lucrative television contracts and hosting fees with countries such as Abu Dhabi and Azerbaijan that are eager to feature on what is now a calendar with a record 21 races.
Liberty says it has already acquired “an 18.7% minority stake in Formula One for $746 million”, paid in cash. A buyout is expected to be completed by March 2017.
The American entertainment and media giant is buying 100 per cent of the shares of F1’s parent company Delta Topco from the British private equity firm CVC Capital Partners. 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.
The company is owned by USA mogul John Malone, whose 40 years of dealmaking in the cable and pay-TV industry have earned him the nickname the “Cable Cowboy”.
“Liberty Media is part of the growing media empire controlled by cable-TV pioneer and billionaire John Malone”. 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.
“He can do lots of things that I haven’t done with this social media, which he seems to be in touch with”, said Ecclestone. “They have dealings with a lot of sponsors due to their TV networks and social media which we haven’t done (as much) in the past”.
“They want me to be here for three years”, the 85-year-old told Express newspaper.
Asked about challenging NASCAR’s supremacy in the U.S., Ecclestone said: “They are the people that should be concerned, of course”.
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CVC has twice tried to float Formula One but the plans stalled and the fund instead sold stakes to US investment groups BlackRock and Waddell & Reed, along with Norway’s Norges Bank.
