Liberty confirms takeover of Formula One
Liberty Media Corporation has confirmed its takeover of Formula One. The media company has agreed to acquire F1 from a consortium of sellers led by majority shareholder CVC Capital Partners. Bernie Ecclestone is set to stay on as CEO, while Chase Carey will be appointed as chairman.
Liberty Media will acquire 100% of the shares of Delta Topco, the parent company of F1, and concurrent to that it has completed the acquisition of an 18.7% minority stake for $746million (£559m).
Prior to completion of that deal, due to be concluded in the first quarter of 2017, CVC Funds will continue to be the controlling shareholder of Formula 1.
Upon completion of the deal next year, Liberty Media will become the majority shareholder with a 35.5% stake, with CVC still retaining a 24.7% share after selling off a 13.4% interest.
The statement added: "After completion of the acquisition, Liberty Media will own Formula 1 and it will be attributed to the Liberty Media Group which will be renamed the Formula One Group.
"The consortium of sellers led by CVC will own approximately 65% of the Formula One Group's equity and will have board representation at Formula 1 to support Liberty Media in continuing to develop the full potential of the sport.
"In addition, a CVC representative will be joining the Liberty Media board of directors.
"Chase Carey has been appointed by Delta Topco and will serve as the new chairman of Formula 1, succeeding Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who will remain on Formula 1's board as a non-executive director.
"Bernie Ecclestone will remain Formula 1's CEO."
The statement also confirmed "the transaction price represents an enterprise value for Formula 1 of $8.0billion and an equity value of $4.4 billion".
Ecclestone said: "I would like to welcome Liberty Media and Chase Carey to Formula 1 and I look forward to working with them."
Liberty Media president and CEO Greg Maffei added: "We are excited to become part of Formula 1.
"We think our long-term perspective and expertise with media and sports assets will allow us to be good stewards of Formula 1 and benefit fans, teams and our shareholders.
"We look forward to working closely with Chase Carey and Bernie Ecclestone to support the next phase of growth for this hugely popular global sport."
Carey is currently the executive vice chairman of 21st Century Fox.
"I am thrilled to take up the role of chairman of Formula 1 and have the opportunity to work alongside Bernie Ecclestone, CVC, and the Liberty Media team," he said.
"I greatly admire Formula 1 as a unique global sports entertainment franchise attracting hundreds of millions of fans each season from all around the world.
"I see great opportunity to help Formula 1 continue to develop and prosper for the benefit of the sport, fans, teams and investors alike."
Donald Mackenzie, co-chairman of CVC, feels Ecclestone and Carey will form a formidable partnership.
"We are delighted Chase is joining Formula 1 as its new chairman and that he will be working alongside Bernie," Mackenzie said.
"Chase's experience and knowledge of sport, media and entertainment is as good as it gets and we are very pleased to secure his services.
"Bernie has been a wonderful CEO for us over the last 10 years. There have been many successes and the occasional challenge, but there has never been a dull moment and we have had a lot of fun.
"The combined skills of Chase and Bernie mean the successes should continue and we wish them well."
