Liberty Media has agreed to buy Formula One from a consortium led by CVC for an enterprise value of $8 billion and an equity value of $4.4 billion.
Under the terms of the deal, it will acquire 100% of the shares of Delta Topco, the parent company of Formula One, with the transaction being subject to a number of conditions, including the receipt of certain clearances and approvals by antitrust and competition law authorities in various countries; third party consent and approvals; and the approval of Liberty Media’s stockholders.
Concurrent with the agreement to effect the acquistion, Liberty Media has completed the acquistion of an 18.7% minority stake in Fornmula One for $746 million in cash.
After completion of the acquisition, Liberty Media will own Formula One 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 One. 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 One, succeeding Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, who will remain on Formula One’s board as a non-executive director. Bernie Ecclestone will remain Formula One’s CEO.
Greg Maffei, president and CEO of Liberty Media, said: “We are excited to become part of Formula One. We think our long-term perspective and expertise with media and sports assets will allow us to be good stewards of Formula One 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.”
Chase Carey, chairman of Formula One, said: “I am thrilled to take up the role of Chairman of Formula One and have the opportunity to work alongside Bernie Ecclestone, CVC, and the Liberty Media team. I greatly admire Formula One 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 One continue to develop and prosper for the benefit of the sport, fans, teams and investors alike.”
Bernie Ecclestone, CEO of Formula One, said: “I would like to welcome Liberty Media and Chase Carey to Formula One and I look forward to working with them.”
Donald Mackenzie, co-chairman of CVC, commented: “We are delighted Chase Carey is joining Formula One as its new chairman and that he will be working alongside Bernie Ecclestone. 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 that the successes should continue and we wish them well. We would like to thank Peter Brabeck-Letmathe for his outstanding contribution during his tenure as chairman. His leadership has served the company well, and we are pleased that he will remain on the board as a non-executive director.”
