Liberty Media Corporation and Delta Topco, the parent company of Formula 1, have announced that Liberty Media has completed its acquisition of Formula One and has appointed Chase Carey as Chief Executive Officer of F1, in addition to his existing role as Chairman.
Bernie Ecclestone has been named Chairman Emeritus. He will be available as “a source of advice” for the board of F1.
“We are delighted to have completed the acquisition of F1 and that Chase will lead this business as CEO,” said Greg Maffei, President and CEO of Liberty Media Corporation. “There is an enormous opportunity to grow the sport, and we have every confidence that Chase, with his abilities and experience, is the right person to achieve this.”
carey said that he is “excited” to be taking on the additional role of CEO.
“F1 has huge potential with multiple untapped opportunities,” he said. “I have enjoyed hearing from the fans, teams, FIA, promoters and sponsors on their ideas and hopes for the sport. We will work with all of these partners to enhance the racing experience and add new dimensions to the sport and we look forward to sharing these plans overtime.
“I would like to recognise and thank Bernie for his leadership over the decades. The sport is what it is today because of him and the talented team of executives he has led, and he will always be part of the F1 family. Bernie’s role as Chairman Emeritus befits his tremendous contribution to the sport and I am grateful for his continued insight and guidance as we build F1 for long-term success and the enjoyment of all those involved.”
Bernie Ecclestone said: “I’m proud of the business that I built over the last 40 years and all that I have achieved with Formula 1, and would like to thank all of the promoters, teams, sponsors and television companies that I have worked with. I’m very pleased that the business has been acquired by Liberty and that it intends to invest in the future of F1.”
The transaction price represents an enterprise value for F1 of $8 billion and an equity value of $4.4 billion.
With the completion of the acquisition, the Liberty Media Group will shortly be renamed the Formula One Group and the ticker symbols for the Series A, Series B and Series C Liberty Media Group tracking stocks will be changed from LMC (A/B/K), respectively, to FWON (A/B/K), respectively, soon after the group name change has become effective.
F1 will remain based in London and Greg Maffei will be Deputy Chair of the board of F1.
