Upon Liberty Media taking control of Formula 1, it should be expected that the motorsport will receive better marketing in the United States, where Malone’s media empire largely operates.
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While Liberty and Malone have been linked with the purchase of an F1 stake – controlling or otherwise – since February 2014, on-going talks have reached a satisfactory conclusion, according to F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone.
Liberty Media, run by multi-billionaire media mogul John Malone, who owns the Atlanta Braves in Major League Baseball and is also the largest landowner in the United States, is the frontrunner. The sport, for better or worse, has been ironically stuck in the mud over the past few years, despite its status as the top level of motorsports racing.
Liberty Media will list F1 on the Nasdaq Exchange in NY if the deal goes ahead, various media reports have suggested.
Autosport understands chief executive Ecclestone would not depart with immediate effect, but would at least continue to play a role in whatever handover period may take place.
Formula One’s biggest shareholders are CVC, with a 35.5 percent stake, and USA fund manager Waddell & Reed with 20.9 percent.
CVC now owns 35.1% of F1, while Ecclestone reportedly holds 5.3% and another 8.5% through the Bambino Trust Ecclestone set up of his ex-wife and daughters – albeit without any voting rights.
CVC declined to comment on the auto motor und sport report.
It’s not clear what Ecclestone’s future role would be if there is an ownership change. That said, there’s growing momentum that CVC is on the inside line in the long-rumored acquisition of Formula One. The UK-based newspaper believed the fee to be US$28 million, which was some US$11 million more than the race organisers claimed they were willing or able to pay.
“Strategically, it makes more sense for Liberty Global to own [Formula One than Liberty Media] given their pan-European presence”, Macquarie Securities analyst Amy Yong tells THR.
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Austrian Niki Lauda, the retired triple world champion who raced for Ecclestone in the 1970s and is non-executive chairman of dominant Mercedes, said the Briton would be at the next race. “Liberty Media also owns a sizeable position in Live Nation, which could be leveraged with F1 in many ways”.
