$8 Billion Takeover Of Formula 1 Begins, But Bernie Isn’t Budging

American Media giant Liberty Media has begun a takeover of Formula 1 valued at $8billion (£6billion) in total, with the first step being a 18.7 per cent stake for $746million.

The statement released on Wednesday confirmed Liberty Media has agreed to buy F1 from a consortium of sellers led by CVC Capital Partners, the series’ majority shareholder.

The initial step is a short-term goal, but in the longer term Liberty Media will buy 100 per cent of the shares of F1’s parent company, Delta Topco, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions.

Chase Carey, vice-chairman of 21st Century Fox, will join as F1 chairman. A big piece of news is that long-time F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone will remain as CEO, although there has been no confirmation on how long this will be for.

The deal will see Liberty invest $4.4billion (£3.3billion) in total, assuming $4.1billion of F1’s debt. The deal is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 2017 and will have an expected value of $8billion.

It’s all rather complicated, as you’d expect from a takeover of one of the biggest sports series in the world, but appears to be a positive one for F1.

CVC has come under criticism since it took over a majority stake of F1 in 2006 for focusing on its own investments, rather than helping to push the series forward.

Liberty Media owns stakes in the Atlanta Braves baseball team and SiriusXM Radio Inc, as well as a wide range of media and entertainment companies.

The company’s president and chief executive officer, Greg Maffei, said he hopes Liberty Media will be “good stewards” for F1 and “benefit fans, teams and our shareholders”.

It’s expected that this new ownership could open up F1 to new digital marks, social media and expansion of the series – perhaps with new races and venues joining the calendar.

There will also be the chance for teams to invest in F1 itself and the announcement said some are already interested in doing so.

For anyone that wants to read up about all of the minor, intricate details of the deal – take a look at the full statement here.

So, what do you think about the news? Good or bad for F1? Let us know below!